TCA 2018: “Disenchantment” & “The Simpsons”

Recaps and insight from both panels.

TCA 2018 was in tow, and animation got a bit more spotlight this year than prior years and that’s a good thing. Netflix brought out the producers and cast of their new show, Disenchantment which bows on August 17th and from the sounds of it producers Josh Weinstein and Matt Groening are loving the freedoms that the world’s largest streaming service provides for them in terms of their vision for the series. Yes, there are notes, but Matt and Josh noted that this series will contrast quite a bit with that of The Simpsons of which the best way I can explain it is that of the sport of boxing. In boxing, you can brawl and hope to knock out your opponent, or you can box and point the opposing fighter to an eventual decision. The Simpsons’ approach is that of the former whereas Disenchantment is more the latter, allowing jokes to kind of stretch out a little more in favor of a more dramatic flair. Stars Abbi Jacobson and Eric Andre seemed to be super excited for fans to see how they were to add value to their characters

Speaking of The Simpsons, while Matt was mostly mum on the show that pays his bills, Dana Walden and Gary Newman noted that they are going to let the producers of The Simpsons handle the future of “Apu” and, even better news, that there’s no end in sight for the series even when the FOX/Disney transaction comes to pass. In fact, The Simpsons probably pose more of affinity for New FOX to continue to look at independent studios for potential series pickups leaving open the door for non-20th Century FOX produced animation projects to potentially make their way over to the network that has the only Sunday Night Animation lineup on broadcast television.

Our Take

The best takeaway from this week’s panels are studios listening more to their creatives and less to external critics or big wig studio heads for creative input. If only networks like ABC would do the same, the TV landscape would look a lot rosier, alas, Disney has a lot to learn.