#InternationalWomensDay: Tracking The Progress Of Adult Swim And “The Simpsons” In Increasing Inclusiveness

“It’s a really complicated time in a girl’s life from age eight to… Actually, all the rest of the way.” Marge Simpson.

 

Without women there are no men. As a child of a single mother who had to support us three kids I am well aware of how important strong women are to society and all of the important things they contribute…like the human race. In the world of adult animation two of the industry’s top brands, The Simpsons and Adult Swim, had been on the wrong side of the receiving end of criticism as it pertains to inclusiveness in the work place. So we decided to check in with both to see their progress up until this point:

 

The Simpsons

Before

Mimi Pond, the writer of the very first episode of The Simpsons ever broadcast known as “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire”. Mimi has alleged in interviews that one time show runner, the late Sam Simon, had pushed for an all “boys club” despite the fact that the aforementioned episode had won two Emmys. Since Sam’s departure as the showrunner, however, The Simpsons have had many showrunners including the now current Al Jean who maintains the ship today which has resulted in…

After

Women writers and producers on The Simpsons! Yep, and the show’s 30th season is the best indication of that yet! Stephanie Gillis, Carolyn Omine, Deb Lacusta, Megan Amram, and Nancy Cartwright are among the women who are accredited writers for seven of the 19 episodes of The Simpsons that have aired so far this season which is somewhere in the neighborhood of a 300% increase over prior seasons. Note with the likes of Michael Price focusing on his own series, and other prominent writers of The Simpsons being seen on say Disenchantment and such, this will most likely increase over the next couple of seasons.

In terms of voice actors, no contest, there are way more women voice actors on The Simpsons then men. The aforementioned Cartwright continues to voice “Bart” along with a slew of other characters like “Nelson”, “Ralph”, and “Rod & Todd Flanders”, Julie Klavner (“Marge”), Yeardley Smith (“Lisa”), Tress MacNeille, Maggie Roswell, Pamela Hayden, and how can we forget the brilliant, the late Marcia Wallace?

In terms of directors, it’s been a while since Nancy Kruse has been seen on the series and really she was the lone woman director as part of the staff. Having more woman animation directors could be an area in which The Simpsons should focus on in the years to come.

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Adult Swim

Before

Yes, I’m aware of all the commotion yesterday that went on when Adult Swim’s typically “not to be taken seriously” social handle posted a request for TV show ideas. Anyone in the TV industry can tell you not only would this never work, it’s highly suggested that any interested producers looking to break into the business is better off going the old fashioned route and making sure you have an agent present when pitching ideas to TV networks. There are constantly stories reported of movie and TV studios being sued by people years after a pitch meeting claiming their ideas were stolen and very seldom does an outright win happen, instead, there’s a settlement, and by this point a TV studio would just as easily cancel the series rather than chance having to pay additional royalties on a show which affects the bottom line and as such would probably just move on.If you’re worried about a TV network not paying you for your content, make sure you have a lawyer/agent present so as to avoid this from happening.

Because of the Tweet, additional allegations of sexism against Mike Lazzo, head of Adult Swim, had surfaced given his past remarks about why the network doesn’t have more women showrunners. Welp, since then (roughly five years) we are happy to report, the network has been making strides in this area.

After

First thing’s first…Adult Swim/Turner Broadcasting have TONS of women employees. I should know this as a lot of them work in PR and do a great job of ignoring us at all costs when requesting assistance in covering a series. That said, from my experience, they are usually very polite when I run into them at Comic-Cons.

In terms of producers, more work could be done but women are definitely showing up everywhere on Adult Swim’s dial. We recently interviewed the co-creator of Tender Touches Ms. Lauren Payne who has done a fabulous job the last couple of seasons on the series. Kudos to Cat Solen, co-director of The Shivering Truth and Kahlea Baldwin on Dream Corp LLC who both work tirelessly on their respective series that showcase a more unnerving and horror/sci-fi induced future for Adult Swim animation.

Need more? Check out Adult Swim’s Toonami lineup which features a slew of programming from Production I.G., the studio run by the queen of anime Maki Terashima-Furuta, the same studio responsible for anime stalwarts like FLCL, Attack on Titan, and a slew of others.

 

Our Take

Is it perfect yet? No. But there are strides being made in the tippy top of the adult animation spectrum. Companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple have noted the prominence of women in animation and as such have picked up a slew of programming and these two have responded. The proof is in the pudding, women are slowly but surely showing up and they aren’t doing it by whining and complaining, they’re doing it with talent, grit, and insatiable perseverance that will inspire others to do the same.