thinking of fresh ideas. People are so on top of things that we've done before, so the challenge now is to think of an idea that's good, but hasn't been seen." Jean's return was initially welcomed, with MSNBC's Jon Bonné stating: "Jean, who took the show's helm from executive producer Mike Scully in 2001, has guided the show away from its gag-heavy, Homer-centric incarnation...these are certainly brighter days for the show's long-time fans." However, some critics have argued that the show's quality has continued to decline in recent years during Jean's tenure. Jean has responded to this criticism by saying: "Well, it's possible that we've declined. But honestly, I've been here the whole time and I do remember in season two people saying, 'It's gone downhill.' If we'd listened to that then we would have stopped after episode 13. I'm glad we didn't." Jean was one of the writers and producers who worked on The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film released in 2007. The show's voice cast was signed on to do the film in 2001, and work then began on the script. The Simpsons producers were initially worried that creating a film would have a negative effect on the show, as they did not have enough crew to focus their attention on both projects. As the show progressed, additional writers and animators were hired so that both the show and the film could be produced at the same time. Groening and Brooks were therefore able to invite Jean (who continued to work as show runner on the television show) to produce the film with them. Jean frequently appears on the Simpsons DVD audio commentaries for episodes which he has collaborated on. He told IGN that he enjoys doing them because he has not seen some of the episodes in ten to fifteen years, and "it's kind of like a reunion to see some of the people that I worked with before, so it's a really pleasant experience." As of 2020 he is joint showrunner with Matt Selman. He has co-written/produced a number of Simpsons shorts including “Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare’” (Oscar nominated) “The Force Awakens From its Nap” (emmy nominated), “When Billie Met Lisa” (emmy nominated) and “Simpsons : Balenciega” (won Clio). Awards Jean has received nine Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards for his work on The Simpsons. In 1997, he and Reiss won an Annie