EXCLUSIVE: Director Brian Volk-Weiss On “Icons Unearthed: The Simpsons”
Yes, The Simpsons have predicted a lot. No, they didn’t predict the Queen’s recent passing, and I don’t know if ANYBODY could’ve predicted 34 seasons for the franchise. And the show is just as relevant today as ever, literally the other day Senate hopeful John Fetterman posted an ad the other day comparing The Simpsons’ Dr. Nick with that of his Senate opponent Dr. Oz, shit like this happens all the time. So how did the show get here? Well, Brian Volk-Weiss hopes to be the next one up with a new six-part docu-series called Icons Unearthed: The Simpsons premiering tonight @ 10 pm ET/PT only on VICE TV. Ahead of the premiere, we had a chance to talk to Brian about the series and what viewers can expect over the next several weeks.
John Schwarz: Brian, you’ve had experience in the past covering all types of fandoms, what made The Simpsons unique enough to do a six-part series?
Brian Volk-Weiss: Simpsons is one of those phenomena that’s so gigantic that it’s almost impossible to understand just how big it actually is. From its cash flow that helped FOX become FOX, to the fact that at least three generations of humans have been influenced by its comedy and politics, there was no shortage of stories to cover. Wish we’d had more episodes!
JS: Would you classify yourself as a hardcore fan of The Simpsons? If so, what are some of your favorite episodes and do you still watch to this day?
BVW: I would consider myself a big fan but not hard core. I’ve seen close to every episode at some time or another but I don’t watch it weekly. These days I try to binge it as much as possible. Favorite episodes are Monorail and the blunder years.
The Simpsons was obviously pivotal in helping series like Family Guy and South Park get a roadway to success, but there are a number of series that have tried to emulate The Simpsons but failed, why do you think that was?
BVW: I think that the time and money to make the Simpsons be the Simpsons is what makes it stand apart. Rarely have any attempted tries to emulate it have spent the time and money to hire the best of the best writers and not just a few writers, but a LOT of writers. It all stems from that.
The Simpsons has been around for 34 seasons, why is NOW a good time to dig into the mythos of the series?
BVW: Because of how big it is and how long it’s been on the air, and the fact that there really hasn’t been a deep systematic dive into the show made the time perfect.
A couple of years ago another documentary about The Simpsons called The Problem with Apu, focused on PoC characters being voiced by white actors, what is your take on this conversation and how do you balance the conversation about the franchise that some may have seen as controversial to celebrating the “early days” of the show’s franchise as being a success?
BVW: I think that this is a very important conversation for everyone to be having and it’s already resulting in a lot of good decisions as it relates to the present and the future.
What facet of The Simpsons’ success was the most interesting for you to cover and why?
BVW: I was blown away by how the relationship between three men, James L Brooks, Matt Groening, and Sam Simon all played incredibly important parts in making the show what it would become, and it took all three to get it to work
I understand that you aren’t a big fan of some of the big name adult animation series that I’ve mentioned before Family Guy and South Park, how did The Simpsons resonate with you that other franchises haven’t?
BVW: I think I was so young I got hooked before my sensibilities changed and I never could or wanted to move on because the quality of the writing has almost never dipped.
After having finished covering the Icons of The Simpsons, what would be some other franchises, animated or otherwise, that you think deserves an Icons season?
BVW: Oh there’s so many. So so many. From James Bond to RoboCop, the list is hundreds long.
Icons Unearthed: The Simpsons premieres tonight @ 10 pm ET/PT, only on VICE TV.
