 Mirkin left The Edge during its run and became the executive producer and showrunner of The Simpsons for its fifth and sixth seasons . Mirkin has been cited as introducing a more surreal element to the show 's humor , as shown by his first writing credit for the show , " Deep Space Homer " , which sees Homer Simpson go to space as part of a NASA program to restore interest in space exploration . He won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for his work on The Simpsons . Mirkin stood down as showrunner after season six , but produced several subsequent episodes , co @-@ wrote The Simpsons Movie ( 2007 ) and in 2013 remains on the show as a consultant . Mirkin has also moved into feature film direction : he directed the films Romy and Michele 's High School Reunion ( 1997 ) and Heartbreakers ( 2001 ) . 
