31 Behind-the-Scenes Facts About FOX Animated Sitcoms
![31 Behind-the-Scenes Facts About FOX Animated Sitcoms](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/6/849346_320x180.jpg)
The world's most famous yellow family actually made their debut not in their own sitcom, but as a series of recurring shorts over three seasons of The Tracey Ullman Show. Back then, no one could have possibly guessed that “dumb yelling dad and his family” would have been a recipe for a marathon run and an undisputed place in the television hall of fame. But here we are! Not only did The Simpsons find success for themselves on Sunday nights on FOX, they opened the door for countless other animated sitcoms — many of which have had long, very successful tenures of their own. Bob’s Burgers has often been compared to The Simpsons’ glory days; the same for the Texas-set King of the Hill.
And so, here are 31 behind-the-scenes facts about all of this Simpsons-inspired animated TV goodness…
Bart has been in Groening's brain for a long time
![Matt Groening first thought of Bart in high school In high school, he wrote a book about a kid named Bart Simpson whose father Homer would get mad at him. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/5/849345.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Episodes take a long time
![It takes 6-8 months to make one episode From pitch to production, one episode of The Simpsons takes a little less time than making a baby. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/4/849344.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
The original clickbait
![The characters' yellow was designed to be eye-catching An animator showed the color to Matt Groening who approved because when you're flicking through channels with your remote control, and a flash of yellow goes by, you'll know you're watching The Simpsons. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/2/849342.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
God's Fingers
![God always has five fingers Unlike everyone else in the Simpsons universe, God (and sometimes Jesus) has five fingers. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/3/849343.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
What goes around...
![The series ended not with a bang, but with a yep. CRACKED.COM The first and last lines of the series are Hank and the boys exchanging a round of yeps.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/1/849341.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
John Ritter's final performance
![John Ritter's final performance was on King of the Hill. GRACKED.COM Не recorded his final turn as music teacher Eugene Grandy shortly before his death in 2003.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/0/849340.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
Look at all these records!
![Our favorite yellow family has broken a lot of records THE Duff BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS It holds the records for longest-running animated sitcom, the most Emmy Awards won for an animated TV series, the most guest stars featured in an animated series, the most People's Choice Awards by an animated series, and the most liked TV show on Facebook. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/9/849339.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Maggie's First Word
![Elizabeth Taylor was the voice of Maggie's first word Matt Groening said, We did 24 takes, but they were always too sexual. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/8/849338.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
The Simpsons' First Appearance
![The show is a spin-off of The Tracey Ullman Show The Simpson family was first featured in a series of interstitial cartoon shorts on the FOX sketch comedy show. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/7/849337.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
The original plan for Krusty
![Krusty was going to be Homer in disguise EXIT The initial plan was that Bart would discover Homer was Krusty, and it would bring the two together. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/6/849336.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Who is Jeff?
![Comic Book Guy has a name Love you It's Jeffrey Jeff Albertson. Worst name ever? CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/5/849335.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Homer Simpsons: The Origin
![Matt Groening's dad's name is Homer Groening explains, I thought Simpson was a funny name in that it had the word 'simp' in it, which is short for 'simpleton'-I just went with it. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/4/849334.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Hank Hill's Pitch
![Hank Hill pitched himself to the network. CRACKED.COM Instead of animating a full pilot, Mike Judge opted to produce a short, no-frills, first-person plea from Hank himself.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/3/849333.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
Jon Hamm's Toilet Voice
![Jon Hamm voiced a sentient toilet. CRACKED COM In the episode O.T. The Outside Toilet, Gene discovers an advanced, talking toilet in the woods and VOWS to protect it from Max Flush, the toilet hunter.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/1/849331.jpg)
Louise's Hat: Origins
![Louise wears bunny ears because of a manga. CRACKED.COM Louise's wardrobe, and by extension, her mischievous aura, are inspired by a character from Tekkonkinkreet. According to BB creator Loren Bouchard, there's a little boy who's only ever seen wearing bear ears. Не says a weird combination of kid and animal allows the audience to experience Louise both as a little girl and Bugs Bunny at the same time.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/0/849330.jpg)
You can make the Burger of the Day
![They made a cook book featuring every Burger Of The Day. NEW BACON-INGS BURGER TOP BUN A dassic 20-boot party topped with letters. cheddar cheese enion tomato and barea Use the treshess ingredients you con sad. down to the aus MAKES X Bubbles PLUS PLENTY OF FINES SLICED RED ONION 1.14-ounce tap frezen truth tries 1 targe egg 1 pound bacan 4 buns pound 35% team ground beat Breen tear ismuce BACON SLICES . ONE whole milk Harpe 1 THE enion TOMATO Preheat the oven and cook the cooked tries and cost them well - 1 the muture Transfer them back to triesfor stew minutes Test than on the pack the baking sheet](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/8/849328.jpg)
King of the Hill Trading Cards
![TV Guide gave out macabre trading cards as a promotional stunt. Contest Rules No mustare Music DE 18 or the SES VENT where Open to legal residente of the #8 contiguous states - Fieridas una ACTIVO and Hawaii MEI in to address below füt of Official RAS andre les from ecity postcard will SO YOU alima WANNA BE ANIMATED. with nama of character to WELL IT'S NO PICNIC KING N THE thei I CAN TELL YOU Bisnepitakus THAT MUCH, FO Box 1269 Bargani CRACKED COM After a season 2 finale cliffhanger that promised someone would die in an explosion, they started](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/7/849327.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
King of the Hill's Big Move
![Producers trolled fans to think the Hills were moving to LA. CRACKED.COM Fox made a big deal about the show's move after season 2, implying that Judge had agreed to change the setting from Arlen, Texas to Los Angeles, California. After collecting hundreds of angry phone calls (and tons of free press), the move was revealed to be from Sunday to Tuesday nights.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/6/849326.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
A Dinner of Onions
![One in-universe novel shows up again and again. A Dinner of Onlons CRACKED.COM Just about any time a book is being read, held, or just sitting on a table, it's A Dinner Of Onions. A film adaptation even makes an appearance in the episode Stressed for Success.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/5/849325.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
Luanne's name
![Luanne was named after a Texas diner meal. CRACKED.COM The Lu Ann Platter is a meal at the Texas chain restaurant Luby's - which, incidentally, is a much funnier name than Luly's, the stand-in Luby's where Luanne gets something resembling her namesake platter in the show.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/4/849324.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
For one year, they were... King
![King of the Hill's ratings were higher than The Simpsons' (for a year). CRACKED.COM The show hit its stride quickly, already outperforming its lead-in, The Simpsons, in its 2nd season.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/3/849323.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
Sound check!
![The theme song was some band's sound check. CRACKED.COM The Refreshments, out of Arizona, were asked to submit a demo to Mike Judge. They recorded a live set, and encouraged the crowd to really hoot and holler during their sound check jam, which they named Yahoos and Triangles.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/2/849322.jpg)
Source: 15 Dang Ol' Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'King Of The Hill,' Man
The inspiration behind "D'oh!"
![Homer's signature D'oh comes from Laurel and Hardy's James Finlayson's D'oooooh The expression was shortened for time. Laurel and Hardy supposedly used it as a fill-in for d**n. In the script, it only reads as annoyed grunt. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/1/849321.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Krusty's counterpart
![Rusty Nails was the real-life inspiration behind Krusty The Portland entertainer was a very sweet clown, says Matt Groening, who would have grown up watching him. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/0/849320.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Groening's Protest
![Matt Groening removed his name from one episode DEVELOPED By JAMES L. BROOKS Sam SIMAN Groening was so upset with The Critic crossover inclusion in A Star is Burns that his name doesn't appear in the opening credits. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/4/849314.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Get paid in your pajamas
![The voice actors make good money 100 When the show began, the unknown actors were paid $30,000 per episode. Nowadays, they make $400,000 an episode. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/7/849317.jpg)
Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)
Bob's Burgers on Vinyl
![They released an official vinyl album. MUSIC ALBUM CRACKED.COM The 112-track album of songs from the show - which peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard 200 - w as described by Clash magazine as at times both smart, sweet and very, very, stupid.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/8/849318.jpg)
Recording together has it's benefits
![The actors record together .. from across the continent. GRACKED.COM The conversational tone and occasional improv that's so unique to Bob's Burgers is achieved by recording together, face-to-face... ish. The cast is split between New York and LA, so they sync up remotely to record... the way every podcast in 2020 was recorded.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/2/849312.jpg)
Who said fan art can't lead anywhere?
![A fan artist scored a staff job. HAD SOME THING FOR THIS BURGER y CRACKED COM Artist Simon Chong tweeted a 4-minute Bob's Burgers / Archer mashup that he illustrated by hand. The cast and producers loved it so much, they gave him a job as a retake editor and storyboard artist.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/9/849319.jpg)
Who has time for scripts?
![H. John Benjamin doesn't read. CRACKED.COM Не can read, he's just too lazy (by his own admission): I am so poor at planning that I don't even read the scripts. Не says he thrives in animation because he's supremely lazy and makes many mistakes.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/5/849315.jpg)
Only one Bob's Burgers cast member is doing "a voice"
![Every major character is just their actor's speaking voice (except for Linda). CRACKED.COM Linda's voice actor, John Roberts, broke into the biz with his YouTube character mimicking his own mother. His impression has also gotten him on Fallon, and collaborations with heavy hitters like David Cross and Bob Odenkirk.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/6/849316.jpg)