This Legendary Show was Supposed to Flop

If you tuned into the Fox television network on this day (Dec. 17) in 1989 at 8:30 p.m. ET, here’s what you saw…

Marge Simpson has to use the family’s gift money to get Bart’s tattoo removed.⁠To make up the difference, Homer takes a job as a department store Santa.But things get worse when Homer loses his earnings at the dog track.⁠In the end, Homer brings home Santa’s Little Helper, and the family’s “real” Christmas gift becomes the new dog rather than presents.⁠

A happy ending for the Simpson family.

A happy premiere for the show that’s still on the air and is the longest-running sitcom in television history.

800+ episodes and counting.

And here’s the funny thing: No one who worked on the premiere thought the show would survive its first winter.

Mike Reiss co-wrote the first episode (and many episodes that follow). And he wrote a GREAT book, “Springfield Confidential,” about his time working on the show.

Before the first episode aired, he asked his colleagues in the writer’s room how long they thought the show would last:

“Every writer had the same answer. Six weeks. Six weeks, six weeks, six weeks. Only (co-creator) Sam Simon was optimistic. ‘I think it will last thirteen weeks,’ he said. ‘But don’t worry. No one will ever see it. It won’t hurt your career.'”

How’d they get it so wrong?

Years later, Reiss offered this theory in his book:

“Since we thought no one would be watching, we didn’t make the kind of show we saw on TV; we made the kind of show we wanted to see on TV. It was unpredictable…The only rule was one we made for ourselves — don’t be boring.”

As Ned Flanders might say: “Hot diggity-doodle, that’s good stuff!”

Reiss and the other Simpsons writers were practicing something Dan Kennedy preaches:

“Look around at what everyone else is doing, and do the opposite.”

That worked for The Simpsons.

That works for business owners — especially now with same-as-everyone-else, AI-powered slop flooding the market.

How can you be different? How can you stand out so you get hired and have a long, lucrative, Simpsons-esque run of success?

I can help you answer that.

Between now and January 1, I have some open slots on my calendar for Plan-to-Prosper Strategy Sessions. We can meet 1:1 on Zoom and discuss how you can stand out in 2026 and land more clients.

If you want to book one of those sessions, reply to this email with “Santa’s Little Helper,” and I’ll send you a link to my calendar.