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Matt Selman

Matt Selman
Selman at San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010
Born	9 September 1971
Occupation(s)	Writer, Producer
Known for	The Simpsons
Spouse	Renee Ridgeley
Children	2
Website	https://twitter.com/mattselman

Matt Selman (born 9 September 1971)^[1] is an American writer and producer.

Early life[edit]

Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts.^[1] He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993.^[1][2][3]

Career[edit]

After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try to become a television writer. After two years of failed spec scripts he was eventually hired to write an episode of Seinfeld in 1996.

The Simpsons[edit]

In 1997, Selman joined the writing staff of The Simpsons, where he has remained, rising to the position of executive producer.^[4] He has written or co-written 28 episodes of the show, including "Natural Born Kissers" which the show's creator Matt Groening listed as his eighth favorite episode in 2000.,^[5] "Behind the Laughter", "Trilogy of Error", "Sky Police" and "The Food Wife". He also co-wrote the 2007 film adaptation of the show, as well as co-writing the video games The Simpsons: Road Rage, The Simpsons Hit and Run and The Simpsons Game.

Selman has won six Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the show, sharing them with the other producers.^[6] Selman received an Annie Award in 1999 for writing "Simpsons Bible Stories".^[7] He also won a Writers Guild of America Award in 2004 for writing the episode "The Dad Who Knew Too Little".^[8] In the episode, Homer's e-mail was said to be chunkylover53@aol.com. Selman registered the e-mail and received thousands of messages after the episode aired.^[9] He responded to some of them in the character of Homer, but gave up when he forgot the password.^[10]

Of his writing of The Simpsons, Selman said: "The hardest thing is we have to try and make each episode as good as everything that's come before it. We have a legacy of greatness, and you don't want to be the person that ruins The Simpsons."^[11]

As of 2020, he is joint showrunner with Al Jean.

Other journalistic endeavors[edit]

Selman formerly wrote for Time.com's Techland "Nerd World" blog alongside Lev Grossman,^[12] and is also the creator and writer of the Icebox.com webtoon "Superhero Roommate."^[13] Selman also has written jokes for many animated movies. He appeared alongside Groening and voice actor Hank Azaria to judge on a The Simpsons-themed challenge on an episode of Top Chef: Masters in 2010.^[14][15]

Personal life[edit]

Selman is married to Renee Ridgeley^[16] and they have two daughters.

Credits[edit]

• Seinfeld (1996) – writer, program consultant
  • "The Wait Out"
• The Simpsons (1997–present) – writer, producer, story editor, supervising producer, executive producer
  • "Natural Born Kissers" (1998)
  • "Simpsons Bible Stories" (along with Tim Long and Larry Doyle) (1999)
  • "They Saved Lisa's Brain" (1999)
  • "Eight Misbehavin'" (1999)
  • "Behind the Laughter" (along with George Meyer, Tim Long, and Mike Scully) (2000)
  • "Lisa the Tree Hugger" (2000)
  • "Trilogy of Error" (2001)
  • "Simpsons Tall Tales" (2001)
  • "Jaws Wired Shut" (2002)
  • "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" (2003)
  • "All's Fair in Oven War" (2004)
  • "Pranksta Rap" (2005)
  • "Future-Drama" (2005)
  • "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" (2006)
  • "The Haw-Hawed Couple" (2006)
  • "Husbands and Knives" (2007)
  • "That '90s Show" (2008)
  • "Bart Gets a 'Z'" (2009)
  • "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" (2009)
  • "Flaming Moe" (2011)
  • "The Food Wife" (2011)
  • "The Day the Earth Stood Cool" (2012)
  • "Gorgeous Grampa" (2013)
  • "Covercraft" (2014)
  • "Sky Police" (2015)
  • "There Will Be Buds" (2016)
  • "The Great Phatsby" (along with Dan Greaney) (2017)
  • "Heartbreak Hotel" (along with Renee Ridgeley) (2018)
  • "The Clown Stays in the Picture" (2019)
  • "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII" (2022)
• The Simpsons: Road Rage (2001) – co-writer
• The Simpsons Hit and Run (2003) – co-writer
• The Simpsons Movie (2007) – co-writer
• The Simpsons Game (2007) – co-writer

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Selman.

• Nerd World Blog
• Matt SelmanatIMDb