David X. Cohen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David X. Cohen
Cohen at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	David Samuel Cohen (1966-07-13) July 13, 1966 (age 58) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Television writer
Alma mater	Harvard University (B.A.) University of California, Berkeley (M.S)
Period	1992–present
Genre	Comedy
Spouse	Betty Cohen
Children	1

David Samuel Cohen (born July 13, 1966), known as David X. Cohen, is an American writer for television. He is most famous for helping to create the animated TV show Futurama.

Who is David X. Cohen?

David X. Cohen was born in New York City. His parents were both biologists, who study living things. When he was young, David planned to be a scientist. But he also really liked writing and drawing cartoons. He is from a Jewish family.

Early Life and Education

David went to Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, New Jersey. There, he wrote funny articles for the school newspaper. He was also part of the school's math team, which won state championships.

After high school, David studied physics at Harvard University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree there. Later, he went to the University of California, Berkeley, where he got a Master of Science degree in computer science. While at Harvard, he wrote for and was the president of the Harvard Lampoon, a humor magazine.

Starting His Writing Career

After studying for three years in graduate school, David took a break. He started writing sample TV scripts. In 1992, this helped him get a job writing for the cartoon Beavis and Butt-Head.

In 1993, David Cohen began working on The Simpsons. He wrote or helped write thirteen episodes of this very popular show. About five years later, David teamed up with Matt Groening, who created The Simpsons. Together, they developed Futurama. For Futurama, David was an executive producer, the main writer, and the showrunner (the person in charge of the show). He has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work: two for Futurama and two for The Simpsons.

Creating Futurama

Cohen with Matt Groening at the Futurama panel of San Diego Comic-Con (2009)

David Cohen helped create Futurama with Matt Groening. David was the main writer, executive producer, and director for the show's voices. He also directed the voices for the Futurama video game.

Before creating Futurama, David and Matt spent a few years learning about science fiction. In 1997, they started developing Futurama. It was an animated series about life in the year 3000. When they presented the show to Fox in 1998, they already had many characters and storylines ready. The show first aired on March 28, 1999.

After four years, Fox stopped airing Futurama. However, like the show Family Guy, Futurama became very popular on DVD. It also had good ratings when reruns aired on Comedy Central. This led to the show being brought back to life!

When Comedy Central wanted to air Futurama reruns, Fox suggested making new episodes. Comedy Central agreed to sixteen new episodes. Before these, four movies were made directly for DVD: Bender's Big Score (2007), The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008), Bender's Game (2008), and Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009). The last movie was meant to be the end of Futurama. But Matt Groening wanted to continue the show. Comedy Central then ordered 26 more half-hour episodes, which started airing in mid-2010.

David Cohen has also made small cartoon appearances in Futurama. You can see him in the episodes "A Bicyclops Built for Two" and "I Dated a Robot".

Why "David X. Cohen"?

In 1998, when cartoon shows for FOX joined a union, David Cohen had to use a different name for his work. This was because another member of the Writers Guild of America already had the name David S. Cohen. The Guild does not allow two members to use the exact same name for their on-screen credits.

Instead of using his full middle name, David chose to use the middle initial "X". He said it sounded "sci-fi-ish". He also joked that the "X" would make him "the David Cohen people would remember." The "X" doesn't stand for anything special. David added a period after it so people wouldn't think it was a math problem like "David times Cohen."

What He Has Written

David Cohen has written or helped write many episodes for different TV shows:

Disenchantment Episodes

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

Futurama Episodes

• "Space Pilot 3000" (with Matt Groening) (1999)
• "Xmas Story" (1999)
• "Anthology of Interest I" (Part 3) (2000)
• "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" (story 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 (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 Episodes

• "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 Episodes

• "Couch Fishing"
• "Plate Frisbee"

Fun Fact: The Word "Cromulent"

David Cohen is also known for inventing the word "cromulent". This word means "valid" or "acceptable". He used it in The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Iconoclast". Later, the word was even added to Webster's New Millennium Dictionary. In the dictionary, "cromulent" means "fine" or "acceptable".

See Also

In Spanish: David X. Cohen para niños