Watch this: Simpsons writer goes from chimpan-A to chimpanzee of Planet Of The Apes musical

Former Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein discusses everything you always wanted to know about The Simpsons' Planet Of The Apes musical, but were too afraid to ask.

By Matt Schimkowitz | September 28, 2025 | 6:40pm

Screenshot: YouTube

TV News The Simpsons

Watch this: Simpsons writer goes from chimpan-A to chimpanzee of Planet Of The Apes musical

There are few Simpsons bits as revered as Planet Of The Apes: The Musical. From chimpan-A to chimpanzee, it is a clinic of joke density, parody songwriting, and referential humor. It makes a monkey out of anyone who tries to follow in its footsteps. Yet, as former Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein tells Cracked‘s Simpsons Taught Me Everything podcast, it took roughly 2-3 hours for the writers’ room to finish. Speaking to the podcast for an installment on the classic Simpsons episode “A Fish Called Selma,” Weinstein breaks down the musical. He takes host Michael Swaim through his experiences in the writers’ room, the lessons he learned on his first day, and how the jokes for Planet Of The Apes: The Musical came to be.

“I distinctly remember where I was in the room when Steve Tompkins, who’s another writer who’s brilliant and doesn’t get enough credit for his contributions to The Simpsons, said, ‘What if we do a Planet Of The Apes music?'” Weinstein recalled. “Steve pitched that out of the blue just like that, and there was a kind of silence, and you could tell people were like, that seems kind of stupid and whatever, but I was running the room, and I was like, you know what, that could be brilliant and great. Let’s go for it, and we’ll see in the next hour.”