Fox’s popular animated comedies are officially set for the 2025 TV season, starting with new episodes, including a remarkably strong Season 37 premiere of The Simpsons. The episode, “Thrifty Ways to Thieve Your Mother,” was filled with references to the 1990s, and this isn’t the first time the award-winning show has revisited that era for its stories. Even though The Simpsons sometimes seems to predict the future, it doesn’t usually focus on current events.
This position is offset by a show like South Park, which has regained its prominence by intensely focusing on Donald Trump and current affairs, even though this approach sometimes causes production delays due to the show’s need to be up-to-date. When Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman was asked by EW about how the show is responding to the country’s current situation and the increasing politicization of comedy, he shared why he appreciates that animation takes a long time to produce, making it more difficult for writers to be immediately topical, saying:
It’s actually a bit less stressful writing a show that isn’t released for 10 months after it’s written, because honestly, who knows what’s going to be happening in 10 months? Like South Park makes an episode in a week, and *even they* struggle to keep up with current events. Things are changing so rapidly that it’s faster than they can react. And, you know, Jimmy Kimmel is fantastic, and I’m happy to have him back on television. Censorship sucks. What can I say? Censorship sucks.
Selman is referring to the recent, long break between episodes of South Park. The show’s creators explained they simply couldn’t finish the episodes on schedule. He also praised Jimmy Kimmel, whose controversial suspension from ABC made Jimmy Kimmel Live! a major talking point in Hollywood and boosted ratings when the show came back on air a week later.
When it comes to The Simpsons, Selman & Co. would probably need an incredibly accurate way to predict the future – and someone level-headed to do it – to stay as current as shows like those on Comedy Central or late-night talk shows. However, it’s important to remember that Springfield isn’t known for being particularly modern, even when you compare it to other made-up towns.
The creator of the show discusses why everyday, realistic problems shouldn’t be typical for characters like Homer, starting with this explanation:
We’re not focused on directly addressing whatever’s happening right now. Our story is more about a town full of well-meaning but somewhat clueless people navigating a world that’s constantly evolving – though, interestingly, our characters themselves don’t really grow or change. It’s the world around them that does.
When The Simpsons originally aired, it could address important issues, such as television violence, in a way that felt current. This was largely because the internet didn’t exist yet to provide instant updates on everything. Nowadays, it’s likely simpler for the show to work at its own speed, even if that means frequently referencing movies that are several years old.
As a critic, I really appreciate what Matt Selman has to say about The Simpsons. He believes – and I tend to agree – that the show has a surprisingly universal appeal. He argues that it’s because the humor is rooted in the everyday struggles and quirks of people everywhere. Basically, we all recognize a little bit of ourselves – and our neighbors – in the antics of Springfield. As he so eloquently put it:
I’d like to believe that people across our country, no matter their views, can watch The Simpsons and see Springfield as a place much like America – filled with generally good people who are, however, easily influenced. You can interpret ‘influenced’ however you like, and it still applies to the show.
Don’t anticipate seeing The Simpsons crack a joke about Bad Bunny’s 2026 Super Bowl performance next week, though if they do, it’ll certainly be considered a lucky guess.
The Simpsons is on Fox every Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can also watch new episodes the following day if you have a Hulu subscription.
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2025-09-29 20:54