David X. Cohen

{{Infobox writer

| name = David X. Cohen

| image = David X. Cohen by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg

| caption = Cohen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con

| alt = A closeup of a man in front of a microphone. He has a receding hairline and wears dark-framed glasses.

| imagesize = 225px

| pseudonym =

| birth_name = David Samuel Cohen

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|7|13}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Television writer

| period = 1992–present

| genre = Comedy

| spouse = Betty Cohen

| children = 1

| alma_mater = Harvard University (B.A.)
University of California, Berkeley (M.S)

}}

David Samuel Cohen (born July 13, 1966), better known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He is best known for co-developing the animated television series Futurama.

Early life

Cohen was born in New York City as David Samuel Cohen. He changed his middle initial around the time Futurama debuted due to Writers' Guild policies prohibiting more than one member from having the same name.{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1hgdrt/i_am_david_x_cohen_head_writer_on_futurama_ama/cau3yzy?context=1|title=I am David X. Cohen, head writer on FUTURAMA - AMA!|work=Reddit Ask Me Anything|date=July 2013 |access-date=12 January 2014}} Both of his parents were biologists, and growing up Cohen had always planned to be a scientist, though he also enjoyed drawing cartoons and writing.[http://www.frontwheeldrive.com/david_x_cohen.html David X. Cohen interview with frontwheeldrive.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119161000/http://www.frontwheeldrive.com/david_x_cohen.html |date=2008-11-19 }}; accessed February 6, 2007 Cohen is of Jewish background.{{cite news |url=http://jewishjournal.com/uncategorized/71432/ |newspaper=Jewish Journal |title=Jews Get Geek on at Comic-Con |first=Adam |last=Wills |date=22 July 2009}}

Cohen graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, New Jersey, where he wrote the humor column for the high school paper and was a member of the school's state champion mathematics team.{{cite web|last=Rohan|first=Virginia|title=Blast Forward|work=The Record (Bergen County)|date=March 26, 1999|quote=After graduating from Englewood's Dwight Morrow High School, he headed off to Harvard.|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22454509.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111045141/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22454509.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 11, 2013}} Cohen graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in physics, and the University of California, Berkeley, with a M.S. in computer science.[http://www.gotfuturama.com/Information/Articles/DavidInterview/DavidXCohenInterview.dhtml David X. Cohen interview with gotfuturama.com]; accessed February 6, 2007 At Harvard, he wrote for and served as President of the Harvard Lampoon.

In high school, Cohen wrote in MOS 6502 assembly language, an Apple II compiler, and video game, and unsuccessfully tried to publish the latter through Broderbund.{{Cite magazine |last=Guizzo |first=Erico |date=2009-05-01 |title=The Truth About Bender's Brain |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-truth-about-benders-brain |magazine=IEEE Spectrum |language=en |access-date=2018-12-10}} His most notable academic publication concerned the theoretical computer science problem of pancake sorting.{{cite journal|last1=Cohen|first1=David S.|author-link2=Manuel Blum|last2=Blum|first2=Manuel|title=On the problem of sorting burnt pancakes|journal=Discrete Applied Mathematics|volume=61 |issue=2|pages=105–20|year=1995|doi=10.1016/0166-218X(94)00009-3|doi-access=}}

Writing career

After three years of graduate school, Cohen took a leave of absence and started writing sample TV scripts. In 1992, this landed him a job writing two of the earliest Beavis and Butt-Head episodes.[http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201005/profiles.cfm Alaina G. Levine, "Profiles in Versatility: The Futurama of Physics with David X. Cohen"], American Physical Society, May 2010 (access date March 18, 2013) In 1993, Cohen began working on The Simpsons, writing or co-writing thirteen episodes. Nearly five years later, Cohen would team with Matt Groening to develop Futurama, where he served as writer or co-writer of seven episodes and executive producer, head writer, and showrunner of the series' entire run.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169326/|title=David X. Cohen IMDB Page|website=IMDb }} Cohen has won four Primetime Emmy Awards: Two for Futurama{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/shows/futurama|title=Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Futurama Page}} and two for The Simpsons.{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/shows/simpsons|title=Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Simpsons Page}}

=''Futurama''=

File:David X. Cohen & Matt Groening by Gage Skidmore.jpg at the Futurama panel of San Diego Comic-Con (2009)]]

Cohen co-developed Futurama, along with The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Cohen served as head writer, executive producer, co-showrunner, and voice director of the series. He was also the voice director of the Futurama video game. After spending a few years researching science fiction, Groening got together with Cohen in 1997 and developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000.{{cite journal|last=Needham|first=Alex|url=http://www.frcr.com/library/the_face1.html|title=Nice Planet...We'll Take It!|journal=The Face|issue=33|date=October 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000824051707/http://www.frcr.com/library/the_face1.html|archive-date=August 24, 2000}} By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and storylines; Groening claimed they had "gone overboard" in their discussions. Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life".{{cite web|title=Matt Groening|work=Mother Jones|url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/1999/03/matt-groening|last=Doherty|first=Brian|date=March–April 1999|access-date=January 14, 2007}} The show premiered on March 28, 1999.

After four years on the air, the series was canceled by Fox. In a situation similar to the animated Family Guy, however, strong DVD sales and very stable ratings on Adult Swim brought Futurama back to life.{{Cite news |last=Hanks |first=Henry |date=June 24, 2010 |title=Good news, everyone: 'Futurama' is back! |work=CNN |publisher=Warner Media, LLC |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/23/futurama.return/ |url-status=live |access-date=June 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808165230/http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/23/futurama.return/ |archive-date=August 8, 2016}} When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air Futurama reruns, Fox suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes. When Comedy Central committed to sixteen new episodes, it was decided that four straight-to-DVD films—Bender's Big Score (2007), The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008), Bender's Game (2008) and Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009)—would be produced.{{cite interview| last=Katz| first=Claudia| subject-link=Claudia Katz| interviewer=Evan Jacobs| title=Claudia Katz on Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score| url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEyTuBCyy6XECD| date=2007-11-16| access-date=2009-06-09| archive-date=2008-12-16| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216140027/http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEyTuBCyy6XECD| url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/matt-groening-1798209542| title=Matt Groening| author=Rabin, Nathan|newspaper=The A.V. Club| date=2006-04-26| access-date=2009-06-09}} Since no new Futurama projects were in production, the movie Into the Wild Green Yonder was designed to stand as the Futurama series finale. However, Groening had expressed a desire to continue the Futurama franchise in some form, including as a theatrical film.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/underwire/2008/11/futuramas-anima|title=Futurama Animators Roll 20-Sided Die With Bender's Game| author=Wortham, Jenna| date=2008-11-04| magazine=Wired|access-date=2009-02-28}} In an interview with CNN, Groening said that "we have a great relationship with Comedy Central and we would love to do more episodes for them, but I don't know... We're having discussions and there is some enthusiasm but I can't tell if it's just me."{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/26/matt.groening.futurama/index.html|title=Matt Groening looks to the future|author=Leopold, Todd| date=2009-02-26| publisher=CNN.com| access-date=2009-03-17}}

Comedy Central picked up the show for 26 new half-hour episodes that began airing in mid-2010.{{Cite magazine|title=It's official: 'Futurama' is reborn! |url=http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/06/its-official-futurama-returns.html |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=2009-06-09 |access-date=2009-06-09 |author=Ausiello, Michael |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611192020/http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/06/its-official-futurama-returns.html |archive-date=2009-06-11 }}{{Cite web|title='Futurama' Returns to Production with an initial order of 26 New Episodes to Premiere Mid 2010|url=http://www.comedycentral.com/press/press_releases/2009/061009_futurama_returns.jhtml|work=Press Central Comedy Central Press Release|date=2009-06-10|access-date=2009-06-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605180836/http://www.comedycentral.com/press/press_releases/2009/061009_futurama_returns.jhtml|archive-date=2011-06-05}}{{cite web|url=http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/993/993144p1.html|website=IGN|title=Futurama Return Made Official|author=Goldman, Eric|date=2009-06-09|access-date=2009-06-10}}

Cohen told Newsday in August 2009 that the reported 26-episode order means "[i]t will be up to 26. I can't guarantee it will be 26. But I think there's a pretty good chance it'll be exactly 26. Fox has been a little bit cagey about it, even internally. But nobody's too concerned. We're plunging ahead."Lovece, Frank. [http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/futurama-finds-a-new-future-on-comedy-central-1.1402526 "'Futurama' finds a new future on Comedy Central"], Newsday, August 28, 2009 (posted online August 27, 2009) Two episodes were in the process of being voice-recorded at that time, with an additional "six scripts ... in the works, ranging in scale from 'it's a crazy idea that someone's grandmother thought of' to 'it's all on paper'. ..."The first episode is tentatively titled 'Rebirth' — and in a surprisingly literal fashion, as things turn out". It aired June 24 on Comedy Central.

Cohen designed one of the robots in the robot strip club which he said was "his one artistic contribution to the show". The robot's waist gyrated sexily using a planetary gear. In an episode's commentary, this artistic contribution is discussed by Futurama co-creator Matt Groening, who describes Cohen as being very particular about how the animators used his design, and that Cohen's original drawing is still framed in his office.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

He makes some brief cameo appearances in cartoon form, first in the Futurama episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two", along with several other people who worked on the show, and second on "I Dated a Robot" as a member of the eBay audience. Both appearances are pointed out during DVD commentaries.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

=Name change=

When the FOX primetime animated shows unionized in 1998, Cohen was forced to use a different name for professional purposes, as there was already another member credited as David S. Cohen (who worked on Courage the Cowardly Dog).{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169325|title=IMDB Page for David Steven Cohen|website=IMDb }} The Writers Guild of America does not allow multiple members to use the same name for onscreen credits. Instead of using his full middle name, he chose to use the middle initial "X"—because it sounded "sci-fi-ish"—and has jokingly said that the "X" would make him "the David Cohen people would remember".{{cite interview|last=Cohen|first=David X.|interviewer=David Robert Epstein|title=UGO Networks}} The "X" does not actually stand for anything, but Cohen included a period "so people don't think it's some mathematical formula: 'David times Cohen' or something".{{cite news|title=From Englewood to the 30th century|date=1999-03-26|publisher=The Star Ledger|first=Alan|last=Sepinwall|page=33}}

Writing credits

Cohen is credited with writing or co-writing the following episodes:

=''Disenchantment''=

"For Whom the Pig Oinks" (2018)
"Stairway To Hell" (2019)

=''Futurama''=

"Space Pilot 3000" (with Matt Groening) (1999)
"Xmas Story" (1999)
"Anthology of Interest I" (Part 3) (2000)
"The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" (shared story credits with Jeff Westbrook) (2001)
"Anthology of Interest II" (Part 2) (2002)
"The Why of Fry" (2003)
Bender's Big Score (story with Ken Keeler) (2008)
The Beast with a Billion Backs (story with Eric Kaplan) (2008)
Bender's Game (both story and part 4 of the teleplay) (2009)
Into the Wild Green Yonder (story with Ken Keeler; Parts 1 & 4) (2009)
"Rebirth" (2010)
"Free Will Hunting" (2012)
"All the Way Down" (2023)
"The Futurama Mystery Liberry" (with Jeanette Lim and Patric M. Verrone) (2024)

=''The Simpsons''=

"Treehouse of Horror V" ("Nightmare Cafeteria") (1994)
"Lisa the Vegetarian" (1995)
"Treehouse of Horror VI" ("Homer³") (1995)
"22 Short Films About Springfield" (co-contributor) (1996)
"Much Apu About Nothing" (1996)
"Treehouse of Horror VII" ("Citizen Kang") (1996)
"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (1997)
"The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" ("Chief Wiggum, P.I.") (1997)
"Treehouse of Horror VIII" ("Fly vs. Fly") (1997)
"Lisa the Skeptic" (1997)
"Das Bus" (1998)
"Bart the Mother" (1998)
"Treehouse of Horror IX" ("Starship Poopers") (1998)
"Podcast News" (2020)

=''Beavis and Butt-head''=

"Couch Fishing"{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857493|title="Beavis and Butt-Head" Couch-Fishing (TV Episode 1993)|author=Simon Rodgers|date=2 November 2012|work=IMDb|access-date=29 November 2015}}
"Plate Frisbee"

Cohen has also been credited with inventing the word "cromulent", meaning "valid" or "acceptable" in The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Iconoclast".{{cite video|people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Iconoclast"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}} Subsequently, the word was included in Webster's New Millennium Dictionary.{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cromulent|title=cromulent definition|access-date=2009-03-04|work=Reference.com|publisher=Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English}} The meaning of cromulent is inferred only from its usage, which indicates that it is a positive attribute. Webster's Dictionary defines it as meaning "fine" or "acceptable".

References

External links

{{IMDb name|0169326}}
[http://dvd.ign.com/articles/432/432838p1.html IGN Interview With David X. Cohen]
[http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/off-the-planet/2005/12/10/1134086846734.html Interview with David X. Cohen about the return of Futurama]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080509064704/http://www.mathsci.appstate.edu/~sjg/futurama/dxcinterview.html An Interview About Math in Futurama with David X. Cohen, by Dr. Sarah Greenwald]
{{cite web |url=http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201005/profiles.cfm |title=Profiles in Versatility: The Futurama of Physics with David X. Cohen |publisher=American Physics Society |author=Levine, Alaina G. |access-date=June 10, 2012 }}

Category:1966 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American Jews

Category:20th-century American male writers

Category:20th-century American screenwriters

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:21st-century American male writers

Category:21st-century American screenwriters

Category:American comedy writers

Category:American male screenwriters

Category:American male television writers

Category:Animation screenwriters