The animated comedy called The Simpsons got its start as a short filler in which comedy series?

Long before it became a global cultural institution, America's most famous animated family got its start as a series of short, crudely drawn bumpers. In 1987, producer James L. Brooks was developing a new sketch comedy and variety program for the fledgling Fox network (Review). To transition between the live-action skits, he wanted brief animated segments and approached cartoonist Matt Groening. These shorts, which first aired as part of The Tracey Ullman Show, introduced the world to the chaotic lives of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.

The creation of the characters was famously rushed. Groening had intended to pitch his popular "Life in Hell" comic strip, but fearing he would lose the ownership rights, he quickly sketched a dysfunctional human family in the lobby just moments before his meeting with Brooks. He named the characters after his own family members: his parents Homer and Marge, and his younger sisters Lisa and Maggie. Bart was simply an anagram of the word "brat."

Over three seasons, 48 of these one-minute shorts aired. Their popularity quickly began to overshadow other parts of the variety show, and audiences tuned in specifically to see the Simpson family's latest antics. Recognizing their potential, Fox executives decided to take a gamble and spin the characters off into their own half-hour primetime series, which debuted in December 1989 and changed television history forever.