Paul Germain is a writer, director, and producer of character-driven family comedies that have gained worldwide popularity across generations. Born in Los Angeles, he started his career at Gracie Films, working as a production assistant on "Terms of Endearment" and associate producer on "Say Anything" and "The Tracey Ullman Show".
Collaborating with producer Jeffrey Townsend, Paul developed and cast the one-minute cartoons that became "The Simpsons". He co-wrote the shorts with Matt Groening, directed the voice actors, hired Klasky-Csupo Studios to execute the animation, and produced all the original short cartoons, overseeing every aspect of production. When "The Simpsons" went to series, Paul co-produced the first few episodes before moving to Klasky-Csupo himself.
While working on "The Simpsons", Paul pioneered the radio-play approach in TV animation. He brought the cast together in the booth to perform and record interactively, editing the voice tracks into a "radio show" before animation began. This approach emphasizes the actors' performances over visual gags, creating liveliness and immediacy.
At K-C studios, Paul created "Rugrats" with Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo when his own first child, Tommy, was a year old. He oversaw all scripts, storyboards, and soundtracks, and was creative producer and show runner for the original 65 half-hours of the classic series. "Rugrats" earned Paul three Emmys and remains one of the most popular shows of all time.
After "Rugrats", Paul and partner Joe Ansolabehere moved to Disney, where they created "Recess" for ABC. The show quickly became the network's most popular Saturday-morning show, with Paul and Joe writing, directing, and executive-producing 65 half hours. Seeing the success of the series, Disney asked for a feature, and "RECESS: SCHOOL'S OUT" was released in theaters in 2001.
Some of Paul's other shows include "Lloyd In Space" (ABC and The Disney Channel,) and "Beethoven" (CBS.) He wrote the 2010 "Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue" for Disney and a "Shrek" Halloween special for Dreamworks. Paul and Joe executive-produced the new "Pound Puppies" series, writing and developing original characters for Hasbro Studios and The HUB. The series enjoyed a successful run through 2014.
As of Spring 2018, Paul is executive producer on a major animated series not yet announced, and Paul and Joe are signed to exec-produce the adaptation of a subversive coming-of-age novel as a live-action multi-season series.
