Bill Oakley: podcast appearances and interviews

William Lloyd Oakley, born on February 27, 1966, is an American television writer and producer recognized primarily for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. He formed a close writing partnership with Josh Weinstein during their time at St. Albans School, where they became best friends. Oakley attended Harvard University, serving as Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon. His early career included writing for various media projects such as the variety show Sunday Best, although he experienced a lengthy period of unemployment before achieving success. Oakley and Weinstein co-wrote a spec script for Seinfeld before contributing to The Simpsons, where they were hired full-time in 1992. They authored notable episodes including 'Marge Gets a Job', '$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)', 'Bart vs. Australia', and 'Who Shot Mr. Burns?' and later served as executive producers and showrunners for seasons seven and eight. Their tenure included attempts to incorporate emotional and high-concept episodes, earning them three Primetime Emmy Awards. Following their work on The Simpsons, Oakley and Weinstein created the series Mission Hill, which faced promotional challenges and was canceled prematurely. They also contributed as consulting producers on Futurama and created The Mullets. Oakley has written for other television series including The Cleveland Show and Portlandia, receiving a Writers Guild of America Award as a co-executive producer on Portlandia. In 2018, he reunited with Weinstein as co-executive producer on Disenchantment, a Netflix animated series created by Matt Groening. Oakley is married to fellow writer Rachel Pulido.