Dominic Polcino

Dominic Polcino knows a thing or two about comedy; he's worked as an animation director on award-winning series like "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," and written the "Funny or Die"-approved short video "Lovesick Fool," based on his own independent comic. Polcino started out in the '90s in low-level animation jobs; he served as animation timer on the Nickelodeon series "Rugrats," told from the point of view of a group of eccentric toddlers, and joined the then-fledgling "Simpsons" as a storyboard and character artist. Over the course of his long association with Matt Groening's pop-culture-skewering series, Polcino directed more than 20 episodes, including "Lard of the Dance," which followed Homer's get-rich-quick grease-selling scheme and Lisa's jealousy of a fashionable new student (voiced by "Friends" star Lisa Kudrow), and the critically acclaimed "Lisa's Sax." Between 1998 and '05 Polcino directed numerous episodes of the Emmy-winning animated series "King of the Hill," about a conservative propane salesman (voiced by creator Mike Judge) and his quirky family and friends, and helmed an episode of "Mission Hill," a short-lived series created by "Simpsons" producer Josh Weinstein. Polcino has also directed multiple episodes of the Rhode Island-set "Family Guy," including the fan-favorite special, "Blue Harvest," a parody of "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" that recast the show's characters into the sci-fi film's iconic roles.