# Herman's Head
**Herman's Head** is an American television sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 8, 1991, to June 16, 1994, about a young magazine fact-checker whose decisions are contested by four personified aspects of his own personality.[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hermans-head-television/) The show was created by Andrew Guerdat and Steve Kreinberg, writers of the *9 to 5* television series, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions, the company of veteran producers [Tony Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-thomas-producer) and Paul Junger Witt, whose credits included *The Golden Girls* and *Empty Nest*.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/) • [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/09/07/if-it-only-had-a-brain/90b410ff-0ee4-49de-b42a-3e1ece1d4ce5/) • [4](https://www.tvhalloffame.com/pdf/tv-hall-of-fame-collection-2016.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | Fox, September 8, 1991 to June 16, 1994[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hermans-head-television/) |
| Premise | Herman Brooks, a fact-checker for a publishing company, has four psyche manifestations, Angel, Wimp, Genius, and Animal, who bicker in a messy attic room representing his mind[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/) |
| Lead cast | William Ragsdale (Herman Brooks), Hank Azaria (Jay Nichols), Jane Sibbett (Heddy Newman), Yeardley Smith (Louise Fitzer)[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hermans-head-television/) |
| Brain cast | Molly Hagan (Angel), Rick Lawless (Wimp), Ken Hudson Campbell (Animal), Peter MacKenzie (Genius)[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hermans-head-television/) |
| Time slot | Sundays at 9:30 pm from September 1991 to August 1993, then Thursdays at 9:30 pm[5](https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/hermans-head) |
| Episode count | 72 episodes per the Television Hall of Fame index; the Classic TV Database lists 70[4](https://www.tvhalloffame.com/pdf/tv-hall-of-fame-collection-2016.pdf) • [5](https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/hermans-head) |
| Critical reception | Season 1 scored 17% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 12 reviews and a Metascore of 47 on Metacritic[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/hermans_head/s01) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/hermans-head/critic-reviews/?season=season-1) |
## Premise and structure
Herman Brooks is an aspiring writer working as a fact-checker for a Manhattan magazine publisher. The show follows his everyday life at work and at home, but periodically cuts to a depiction of his mind, staged as a cluttered, attic-like room where four manifestations of his psyche argue over his every action.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/) • [8](https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film848952.html) The four are Genius, who controls Herman's intellect and logic; Angel, his sensitive, kind side; Animal, representing his lust; and Wimp, his anxiety and timidity.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-07-ca-1440-story.html) Wimp was the acting debut for Rick Lawless.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/)
The outer-world cast surrounds Herman with a boss, Mr. Paul Bracken ([Jason Bernard](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-bernard)); two female co-workers, the wisecracking receptionist Louise Fitzer ([Yeardley Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/yeardley-smith)) and the snobbish social climber Heddy Newman ([Jane Sibbett](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-sibbett)); and his self-centered best friend Jay Nichols (Hank Azaria).[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hermans-head-television/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-07-ca-1440-story.html) • [5](https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/hermans-head)
## Reception
Critics reviewing the 1991 debut were largely negative. Tom Shales of *The Washington Post* called the premiere witless and traced the gimmick to the closing segment of [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s film *Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (1972), in which Allen played a sperm.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/09/07/if-it-only-had-a-brain/90b410ff-0ee4-49de-b42a-3e1ece1d4ce5/) Howard Rosenberg of the *Los Angeles Times* judged it an interesting idea with bad execution, noting that the few amusing moments were clobbered by overbearing comedy.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-07-ca-1440-story.html) Season 1 holds a 17% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from 12 reviews, with a critics' consensus that the show squandered a brainy premise with juvenile execution.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/hermans_head/s01) On Metacritic, season 1 received a Metascore of 47, based on four critic reviews: one positive, two mixed, and one negative. The positive outlier was Marvin Kitman of Newsday, who called it the most imaginative, innovative comedy on television since *Dream On*; Ken Tucker of *Entertainment Weekly* scored it 16 and called the show a claustrophobic disaster.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/hermans-head/critic-reviews/?season=season-1)
The show was not a hit in the ratings. When Fox canceled a host of shows in 1993, *Herman's Head* was among them, and the remaining episodes of its third season aired into 1994.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/)
## Simpsons connections and later recognition
The show's most durable association is with *The Simpsons*, which shared two cast members. Yeardley Smith, the voice of [Lisa Simpson](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-simpson), played Louise, and [Hank Azaria](https://www.edgepedia.org/hank-azaria), who voices Moe, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, and formerly Apu on *The Simpsons*, played Herman's best friend Jay.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/) *Herman's Head* acknowledged the overlap with its own joke, having Louise ask Herman whether she sounded like Lisa Simpson.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/) • [10](https://weminoredinfilm.com/2015/06/20/is-pixars-inside-out-just-a-hermans-head-rip-off/) *The Simpsons* referenced *Herman's Head* on more than one occasion.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/) In a 2023 podcast interview, Smith said she loved the show and would keep putting in a good word for a reboot.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/)
Jane Sibbett went from the series to playing Ross's ex-wife Carol on *Friends*, and [Jennifer Aniston](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-aniston) appeared in two episodes before her own *Friends* fame, playing Herman's competitive sister.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/)
## Comparison with Inside Out
When Pixar released plot details for *Inside Out* (2015), a film about personified emotions governing a person's mind, commentary repeatedly compared it to *Herman's Head*.[10](https://weminoredinfilm.com/2015/06/20/is-pixars-inside-out-just-a-hermans-head-rip-off/) The premises are similar: both stage the inner psyche as personified characters who debate and steer a person's actions. They differ in specifics, with *Inside Out* using five emotions (joy, sadness, disgust, fear, and anger) against *Herman's Head*'s four (intellect, compassion, lust, and fear), fear being the only direct overlap.[10](https://weminoredinfilm.com/2015/06/20/is-pixars-inside-out-just-a-hermans-head-rip-off/) Commentators have noted similarities between Herman's Wimp and Angel and the Pixar film's Fear and Joy.[2](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/)
## References
1. [Herman's Head (television), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hermans-head-television/)
2. [This Forgotten Fox Sitcom Feels Like Pixar's Inside Out For Adults, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2246756/forgotten-fox-sitcom-pixar-inside-out-adults-hermans-head/)
3. [If It Only Had a Brain: 'Herman's Head': Witless Debut on Fox, The Washington Post (September 7, 1991)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/09/07/if-it-only-had-a-brain/90b410ff-0ee4-49de-b42a-3e1ece1d4ce5/)
4. [Television Series Title index, Television Hall of Fame collection (2016)](https://www.tvhalloffame.com/pdf/tv-hall-of-fame-collection-2016.pdf)
5. [Herman's Head, Classic TV Database](https://www.classic-tv.com/shows/hermans-head)
6. [Herman's Head: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/hermans_head/s01)
7. [Herman's Head Season 1 Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/hermans-head/critic-reviews/?season=season-1)
8. [Herman's Head (TV Series) (1991), FilmAffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film848952.html)
9. [TV Reviews: Not Many Chuckles From 'Herman's Head', Los Angeles Times (September 7, 1991)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-07-ca-1440-story.html)
10. [Is Pixar's Inside Out Just a Herman's Head Rip-Off?, We Minored in Film (2015)](https://weminoredinfilm.com/2015/06/20/is-pixars-inside-out-just-a-hermans-head-rip-off/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 1980s and 1990s network sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license