Milhouse is one of the most popular recurring characters in The Simpsons, and the story behind his creation is as unique as him, as he was originally made for another show and his first appearance was in a commercial. Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons began as a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, and was developed into a half-hour prime time show after three seasons, making its official debut on Fox in 1989. Since then, The Simpsons has become the longest-running American sitcom and has successfully expanded to other media.
The Simpsons follows the daily lives of the title family and other colorful citizens from Springfield, both friends of the family and enemies. Some of them have become recurrent characters, even getting prominent roles in some stories, such as Milhouse, Bart’s best friend who has an unrequited crush on Lisa. Milhouse has become very popular with viewers thanks to his tendency to have very bad luck, being the preferred target of bullies, illnesses, and more. Milhouse is insecure, gullible, and a lot less popular than Bart, but he has won the audience over, which is why it’s hard to imagine that he was originally created for a different show.
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten’s first appearance in The Simpsons was in the very first episode, “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire”, but his first appearance in general was before that, and not in the animated shorts shown in The Tracy Ullman Show. As revealed by director David Silverman (via Cinemablend), Milhouse was actually created for an NBC cartoon show that was never produced. Groening rescued the design not for The Simpsons but for a Butterfinger commercial, the very first to feature the Simpsons during their Tracey Ullman Show era. Milhouse’s design in the commercial isn’t too different from the one fans now know, and his personality (and bad luck) is pretty much the same.
Following the commercial, Groening and company decided to officially add Milhouse to The Simpsons, and the rest is history. Milhouse has become an important part of the series and the lives of the title family, and while he’s Bart’s best friend, they have had their problems many times through the series and for various reasons. Milhouse has also had a place in the Simpsons’ future timeline, where he has done a bit of everything: he went to jail and began bodybuilding, dated Lisa and even married her, and he also worked at the Power Plant, becoming Homer’s superior. Luckily for him (and not so much at the same time), the episodes set in the future are not canon, so it’s unknown if he will have a good life or not.
The Simpsons wouldn’t be the same without Milhouse and his various misadventures, and he’s a good example of how much the plans for TV shows can change from the initial idea to what makes it to televisions worldwide. Perhaps Milhouse isn’t followed by bad luck all the time, as he was rescued from a rejected project and earned his place in one of the most successful animated shows ever.