The Simpsons (franchise) In 2008, $750 million worth of "The Simpsons" merchandise was purchased worldwide. Peter Byrne, Fox executive vice-president of licensing and merchandising, called "The Simpsons" "without doubt the biggest licensing entity that Fox has had, full stop, I would say from either TV or film." Matt Groening conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. Brooks, the producer of the sketch comedy program "The Tracey Ullman Show", wanted to use a series of animated cartoons as bumpers between sketches. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended
Cartoon Wars Part I "smart" but emphatically criticized their overuse of "gag-humor". After "Cartoon Wars Part I" aired, Parker and Stone said that they were contacted by the staff of "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill", who both gave praise for lampooning "Family Guy". Parker said that the staff of "The Simpsons" hate "Family Guy" more than they do, and that "King of the Hill"s staff said to them, "you're doing God's work". The depictions of Bart Simpson and "King of the Hill"s writing staff in "Cartoon Wars Part II" were influenced by the two shows contacting "South Park". Parker and Stone also