TVSquad

Al Jean started out with The Simpsons 20 years ago as a writer working a couple of days a week. He was there when the series started, and even before it was officially a series, working on the Christmas show in 1989, when The Simpsons first broke away from its beginnings on The Tracey Ullman Show.

Now he's an executive producer and showrunner, staring down the twentieth anniversary of the official start of the series, which happens in January. I spoke with him this week about this Sunday's season premiere, a bit of Simpsons history, and just how long the Simpsons can keep making people laugh.

After 20 years of doing The Simpsons, how do you find something new to do with the show? How do you generate ideas you haven't done before?

Well, it's the best of both worlds. If something happens to you in your life or to the world, you can satirize it but you get to use these characters that people love and that you're very familiar with. To me, there's a lot of topics that are fresh and interesting.

A very tired-sounding Jimmy Kimmel went on Howard Stern yesterday (before his ABC upfront appearance) and talked about his break-up with Sarah Silverman, why ABC made him fly commercial to the upfronts, and a rather bad experience after eating a big steak. Videos below and after the jump. (It's Howard Stern/SIRIUS, so it's very NSFW).

MyDamnChannel has a new web series starting today called Pilot Season, a new series that follows a bunch of actors, agents, managers, and other Hollywood types as they navigate, well, pilot season. It stars Sarah Silverman, Sam Seder, David Cross, Andy Dick, Isla Fisher, Marc Maron, and Brenden Small. Here's a sneak peek.

They're together. No, wait, they're separated. No, wait. They're together again.

And now, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and his girlfriend Sarah Silverman, star of Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program, have split up again.

Matt Damon jokes aside, I was kind of hoping that they would prosper as a couple. I have no particular reason for this. I just find them each entertaining individually (although I found Silverman's humor grating after a while). Plus, I thought they were cute together.

Sadly, they suffer from the relationship problems of most of Hollywood: it doesn't last. Why is that? Is it that Hollywood creates a higher standard, or does Hollywood simply reflect the rest of American culture? Are most relationships like this, with the only difference being that a break-up anywhere else doesn't make headlines?

Of course, for all you single men, this means Sarah Silverman is back on the market. Ditto for the ladies and Jimmy Kimmel. Good luck with that.

Once again, people, I'm forced to asked the question, what the hell is going on here? Has black become white? Has up replaced down? Has Rush Limbaugh been saying he wishes Barack Obama all the best, while Janeane Garofalo is caught trying to start a fire in the White House rose garden?

The makers of The Sarah Silverman Program have been in a standoff with Comedy Central over their latest budget negotiations. Thankfully, a deal was reached and the show will return for another season, but the deal was even bigger than the budget they called into question.

Well, no one ever said you had to be good at math to run a major network, or any of the other basic requirements for passing standardized testing, for that matter. Fred Silverman's parents, for instance, had to hire their boy a special tutor so he could pass finger painting.

The prospect of a news show featuring people with disabilities interviewing celebrities and people on the street sounds like a sick way to spend a Sunday evening. That assumption doesn't help when you see South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker's names under the executive producer heading, two guys who made the phrase "Timmy!" and "cripple fight" part of the American pop culture lexicon.

But as Stone said himself in my soon-to-be awarding winning interview (my boss said he would put a gold star on my next paycheck), How's Your News? -- which premieres at 10:30 tomorrow night on MTV -- aims to change the audience's perspective on more than one level.

It's a journey of self-discovery for both the participants and the viewers and that's a big step for a network that has had a hard time figuring out what it's supposed to be.

First, take note that it's in television and not on, because this list from Entertainment Weekly has a lot of people behind the scenes along with people in front of the camera.

Who do you think is the smartest person in television? It's someone who created a show a lot of us watch every single Sunday night. I'll let you click on the link above to see who the smartest person is.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, then new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Life on Mars.
• CBS has a new Survivor, followed by new episodes of CSI and Eleventh Hour.
• NBC has new episodes of My Name Is Earl, Kath & Kim, The Office, 30 Rock, and ER.
• FOX has a new Kitchen Nightmares at 8.
• The CW has a new Smallville at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• TBS has four great episodes of Friends starting at 8.
• TCM has 1925's Phantom of the Opera at 8, followed by 1923's Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• Also at 8: Cartoon Network has a new Chowder.
• At 9, PBS has a new Live From Lincoln Center.
• Food Network has another Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving special at 9.
• HGTV has a new Rate My Space at 9.
• At 10, FX has the season finale of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at 10, followed by a new Testees.
• There's a new Tim Gunn's Guide To Style on Bravo at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Sarah Silverman Program.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

OK, so we've all heard that Sarah Silverman broke up with Jimmy Kimmel, and then the rumors came out that they had gotten back together recently. But the two hadn't really talked about what was going on, and they hadn't made any public appearances together where they talked about their relationship. Until last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live that is.

Silverman was on the show to promote her Comedy Central show (I guess), but after several awkward moments of talking about lame showbiz stuff ("So how did you get interested in acting?"), they finally address the topic that is on everyone's minds, their breakup. The interview includes a marriage proposal and talk about fat guys on the internet.

The best part of the clip for me is the awesome footage of Silverman singing on the Boston talent show Community Auditions back in 1985. I used to watch that show all the time in the 70s and 80s. After the jump, the interview (in three parts).

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, then new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Life on Mars.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8, followed by new episodes of CSI and Eleventh Hour.
• NBC has new episodes of My Name Is Earl, Kath & Kim, The Office, SNL Thursday, and ER.
• FOX has another World Series game at 8.
• The CW has a new Smallville at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• Also at 8: TCM has 2001: A Space Odyssey, followed by Touch of Evil.
• At 9, Spike has a new TNA Impact!
• History Channel has a new Ancient Discoveries at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
• Bravo has a new Tim Gunn's Guide To Style at 10.
  
• TBS has the movie Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control at 10.
• Sundance has a new Iconoclasts at 10.
• Also at 10: VH-1 has the season premiere of Celebrity Rehab.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Sarah Silverman Program.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, then new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Life on Mars.
• CBS has a new Survivor at 8, followed by new episodes of CSI and Eleventh Hour.
• FOX has a new Hole in the Wall at 8.
• NBC has new episodes of My Name Is Earl, Kath & Kim, The Office, SNL Thursday Weekend Update, and ER.
• There's a new Smallville on The CW at 8, then a new Supernatural.
• TBS has the Red Sox/Rays game at 8.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Myles of Style, followed by a new Rate My Space.
• At 9, Spike has a new TNA Impact.
• Bill Maher is the guest on a new Larry King Live, at 9 on CNN.
• Discovery has a new Destroyed In Seconds at 9.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes.
• Bravo has a new Tim Gunn's Guide To Style at 10.
• Also at 10: Sundance has the season premiere of Iconoclasts.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Sarah Silverman Program.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

A funny thing happened at the beginning of the ABC executive session this morning. After ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson got on stage, said some opening remarks, and opened the floor to questions, someone got up and identified himself as Tom Weinerman of the Sarasota Star-Herald Tribune. That was a bit unusual, as the reporters here never identify themselves before asking questions.

But then, people started recognizing the voice, or turned in the direction of the questioner, and realized what was going on: It was Jimmy Kimmel, and he had some pointed -- and funny -- questions for McPherson about the possibility of Jay Leno coming to ABC.

Wow, maybe she really was f***king Matt Damon after all.

America's Sweethearts, Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman, have broken up. It's true! A publicist for the couple (hmmm...I wonder who gets the publicist in the breakup?) sent a note to People saying that the couple have split and that "there will be no further comment." Of course, I'm sure they'll be no comment until someone mentions it on Kimmel's ABC show or someone asks Silverman about it in an interview.

Click on the link above and head on over to AOL to look at Jimmy and Sarah through the years. They have Sarah's "I'm F**king Matt Damon" video and Jimmy's "I'm F**king Ben Affleck" video. Or, if you're too lazy to click on the link above you can click the link below and check out the videos after the jump. Of course, you're still clicking so either way you have to actually click, so I'll leave the choice up to you.

As the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences tries to whittle the submissions down to actual nominees, it's interesting to take a look at who has made it to the semifinals. It's not a nomination, but it's one step away. Today comes word of the finalists for best comedy actress and best supporting drama actor. There are some surprises.

Chief among those for me is Sarah Silverman. I honestly hadn't even considered her in the running. I'm not much of a fan, but I do like that she is being considered for the simple fact that the base the nominees are drawn from can always use some expansion. And if she is the most surprising inclusion, the most surprising snub just might be Teri Hatcher. Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman all made the cut, but not Hatcher. Ouch. The rest of the finalists, and the supporting actors from a drama, after the jump.

It certainly won't be the only factor, but the choices made for just who makes up the celebrity panel will go a long way in deciding the fate of this latest incarnation of the classic show. With that in mind, here is the celebrity panel from the recently taped pilot: Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Bob Einstein (Super Dave!), Scott Thompson (Kids In The Hall), Rashida Jones (The Office), and Niecy Nash (Reno 911). Andrew Daly (Crossballs) is the host.

How does that lineup grab ya? To me, it's not bad. The Reuters article asks if Sarah Silverman is the new Brett Somers or Norm MacDonald is the new Richard Dawson. In a word, no. You just can't fight that kind of nostalgia. So many of us have seen the classic episodes so many times, and have such fond memories of them, that I don't think there is anything they could possibly do to begin to live up to the original.