From fanatic to full-time employee: Inside Brad Ableson's The Simpsons journey

Brad Ableson, the former The Simpsons artist, has been a huge fan of the show. The series has become a go-to for viewers who enjoy satirical comedy, which also sheds light on real-world issues. The hilarious adventures that the working-class family goes through have an 8.6 rating on IMDb, depicting their quality and immense popularity among viewers.

Brad Ableson has been a significant part of the series right after he signed on as an artist in Season 7 of the series. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Ableson opens up about his journey from a fanatic to a full-time employee.

Brad Ableson’s The Simpsons journey

In the interview, Brad Ableson notes that while he was a kid, he “was the biggest Simpsons nerd” and continues to be one. Each and every episode of the series has been memorized by him, and he could even draw “every character” with his eyes “closed”. He never thought that he could get a chance to work on The Simpsons.

However, when he turned 19, his film school teacher urged him to apply for a job “as an animator” on the show. He needed to find a job at that time, and he applied for it just as his film school teacher suggested. He then got the job and joined as an artist in the seventh season of the series. Brad Ableson compares getting the job at The Simpsons to “being a lifelong Dodgers fan and suddenly being on the team” with his heroes.

He adds that the people whom he admired and considered his heroes became his “mentors, friends,” and “family” after he joined the series. It cannot be denied that, unlike many of the shows that were not able to continue because they were unable to evolve with the growing trends, this is not the case for The Simpsons.

Just as Brad Ableson notes, the series did a “great job” in “keeping up with evolving trends” along with the political scenario and the events that happen in the world of pop culture. This eventually led to the show becoming a phenomenon, and it remains a go-to series for viewers even today. A crucial episode of the series for Brad Ableson is “A Milhouse Divided," as it was the first episode in which he contributed after joining.

The episode dived into Milhouse’s heartbreaking situation as he finds out that his parents are getting a divorce. He worries about the bullying he might face because of this. It cannot be denied that ‘A Milhouse Divided’ is one of the most intriguing episodes of the series, which dives into many significant societal elements that leave an impact on the viewers.

The episode is also significant to Ableson, as his parents were also going through a divorce while he was working on that episode. There are similarities between his father’s situation and that of the episode. He notes that his father used to sleep in a “kid’s race car bed” during that time, which is also present in the episode. He “channeled” his father while he animated the episode.

Brad Ableson also adds how he appreciates the show being able to find new ways through which it can maintain its presence in the world of entertainment, especially through “social media, games,” etc.

After working for 20 years on The Simpsons, where he also met his wife, he decided to move on as he got an “itch to develop his own shows”. Some of Brad Ableson’s other projects besides The Simpsons are Minions: The Rise of Gru, Good Vibes, Legend of Chamberlain Heights, etc.

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