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
Heartbreak Hotel (The Simpsons) Woolf?" with George Segal reprising his role from the film. Heartbreak Hotel (The Simpsons) Heartbreak Hotel is the 641st episode of "The Simpsons" and the second episode of season 30. The episode was written by Matt Selman and Renee Ridgeley. In the episode, Marge Simpson and Homer Simpson take part in a reality TV show. The Simpson family are watching a reality TV show called "The Amazing Place". Bart and Lisa encourage Homer and Marge to audition, but Marge shows them their past tryouts for the show, which were rejected every single time. Lisa edits a video of Marge and