 Scully became showrunner of The Simpsons in 1997 , during its ninth season . As showrunner and executive producer , Scully said his aim was to " not wreck the show " , and he headed up the writing staff and oversaw all aspects of the show 's production . During his time as showrunner he was credited with writing or co @-@ writing five episodes : " Treehouse of Horror VIII " ( " The HΩmega Man " segment ) , " Sunday , Cruddy Sunday " , " Beyond Blunderdome " , " Behind the Laughter " and " The Parent Rap " . Scully was popular with the staff members , many of whom praised his organization and management skills . Writer Tom Martin said he was " quite possibly the best boss I 've ever worked for " and " a great manager of people " while Don Payne commented that for Scully " it was really important that we kept decent hours " . Scully served as showrunner until 2001 , during season 12 , making him the first person to run the show for more than two seasons . He returned in season 14 to write and executive produce the episode " How I Spent My Strummer Vacation " , and co @-@ wrote and co @-@ produced The Simpsons Movie in 2007 . 
