Behind the Laughter  "Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second and final episode of "The Simpsons" eleventh season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 21, 2000. In the episode, which is a parody of the VH1 series "Behind the Music", the Simpson family are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their dramatic inner turmoil and struggles are detailed. Told in a mockumentary format, the episode presents a fictional version of how "The Simpsons" began. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by Tim Long, George Meyer, Mike Scully and Matt Selman. The plot idea for the episode was pitched by Long, and the writers wrote the episode quickly without a draft. VH1 and the producers of "Behind the Music" allowed the crew to use the show's visual graphics package, and Jim Forbes, narrator for the show, also came in to record narrations for the episode. In addition, country musician Willie Nelson guest stars as himself. The episode received critical acclaim, with many reviewers noting it as a highlight of the season and the series itself, and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) in 2000. In addition, composer Alf Clausen won an Annie Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Television Production". In May 2004, the BBC chose it as the last episode to be aired, having lost the terrestrial broadcasting rights in February 2002, to Channel 4, who later aired the series in November 2004. The episode is a parody of the VH1 biography series "Behind the Music" and shares its narrator, Jim Forbes. It begins with the Simpson family history and how they got into show business: believing that families depicted in the numerous TV shows they watch together bare no resemblance to their comparative dysfunctionalism, Homer writes and directs an inadequate video "pilot" that fails to attract the attention of the major networks except for Fox, as its president happens to be Marge's hairdresser. After much fine-tuning and on-set mishaps produce many of the show's running gags, "The Simpsons"' resounding ratings and merchandising success makes the family extraordinarily wealthy; having moved out of their house on Evergreen Terrace to live in MC Hammer's former mansion, "Hammertime" (renamed "Homertime"), they expand their scope to include a series of Grammy-winning, "mega-platinum" novelty albums.