Al Jean

Al Jean
Jean in 2010
Born	Alfred Ernest Jean III (1961-01-09) January 9, 1961 (age 63) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Writer, producer
Alma mater	Harvard University
Spouse	Stephanie Gillis ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	2

Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer.^[1] Jean is well known for his work on The Simpsons. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss. Together, they worked as writers and producers on television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, ALF and It's Garry Shandling's Show.

Jean was offered a job as a writer on the animated sitcom The Simpsons in 1989, alongside Reiss, and together they became the first members of the show's original writing staff. They served as showrunners during the show's third (1991–92) and fourth (1992–93) seasons, though they left The Simpsons after season four to create The Critic, an animated show about film critic Jay Sherman. It was first broadcast on ABC in January 1994 (then aired its second season on Fox in March 1995) and was well received by critics, but did not catch on with viewers and only lasted for two seasons.

In 1994, Jean and Reiss signed a three-year development deal with The Walt Disney Company to produce other television shows for ABC. Among multiple pitches made by the duo, their sole project with ABC to come to fruition was the live-action sitcom Teen Angel, which was cancelled in its first season. Jean returned full-time to The Simpsons during the tenth season (1998–99). He became showrunner again with the start of the thirteenth season in 2001, without Reiss, and he stayed in that position until thirty-three.^[2] Jean was also one of the writers and producers who worked on The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film based on the series, released in 2007.