Don’t expect a fond farewell from The Simpsons anytime soon—or ever.
With The Simpsons nearing its 800th episode on February 15th, executive producer Matt Selman shared his vision for how the show might eventually end. He promised the finale for Homer, Marge, and the rest of the family wouldn’t follow predictable television storylines.
He told The Wrap in a February 13th interview that if the show were to end, there wouldn’t be a grand finale. Instead, it would just be a typical episode featuring the family, maybe with a few subtle hidden references, but no big, sentimental goodbye.
Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE this! Apparently, the geniuses behind the show already thought about killing off a character way back in September 2024, with the very first episode of season 36! Can you imagine?! It was meant to be this super ironic thing, like a joke about how TV always gives you these perfectly happy endings – they wanted to flip that on its head! I’m still reeling just thinking about it!
Oh my gosh, you guys will NOT believe what Matt just told me! Apparently, about a year and a half ago, they did this amazing episode that was basically a joke version of how the show could end. Like, they threw every possible ending idea into one episode! He said it was his way of saying they’re never actually going to do a real series finale! Can you believe it?! It’s brilliant, honestly. He’s basically guaranteeing we get endless seasons! I’m freaking out in the best way possible!
Despite being on television since 1989, the world of The Simpsons – the town of Springfield and its characters – hasn’t changed much over the years.
Matt explained that the show is designed to be cyclical. The characters essentially start fresh each week, similar to the movie Groundhog Day, but without them realizing it, and with less focus on death.
Over the years, the show has famously killed off several characters, such as Larry the Barfly, who was in the very first episode and died during season 35. Recently, the show briefly showed Marge dying in a future scene, but Matt Groening quickly reassured fans that this was just a hypothetical event and wasn’t permanent.
As The Simpsons episodes set in the future are purely fictional and imaginative, they vary each time, explained the show’s creator in a June interview with Variety. He clarified that Marge’s death is unlikely to be a permanent storyline, only occurring in a single episode that aired recently, about six weeks ago.
As The Simpsons celebrates its 800th episode, keep reading for more on the beloved animated sitcom…
As a longtime observer of pop culture, I remember when The Simpsons first popped onto our screens! It’s funny to think it all started with creator Matt Groening being asked to do animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show back in 1987. He’d originally planned to adapt his Life in Hell comic, but decided against it. In a bit of a rush, while waiting to pitch another idea, he actually sketched out the entire Simpson family right there in the lobby – and the rest, as they say, is history!
Matt Groening based all the characters on his own family, using ‘Bart’ instead of his own name. He chose ‘Bart’ because it’s an anagram – a rearrangement of the letters – in the word ‘brat’.
The shorts quickly became the highlight of The Tracey Ullman Show, and producer James L. Brooks, who had hired Groening, recognized their potential as a standalone series. He secured a deal with Fox guaranteeing the show’s creative freedom, preventing network interference with its content.
The Simpsons’ signature yellow color wasn’t a random choice. Creator Matt Groening explained to the BBC that he wanted a color that would immediately catch viewers’ eyes while channel surfing. An animator suggested yellow, and Groening instantly knew it was perfect. He believed a quick flash of yellow on the screen would instantly identify the show as The Simpsons.
The very first complete episode, titled “Some Enchanted Evening,” didn’t air until May 1990. It was the final episode of the first season, and its release was delayed due to animation issues. Originally planned for a fall launch, the show finally premiered on December 17th.
Matt Groening designed the Simpsons with very specific hairstyles and head shapes so they would be instantly recognizable, even just from their outlines.
Matt Groening asked Danny Elfman, the singer and composer of Oingo Boingo, to write a theme song with a classic, retro feel for the show’s opening. Remarkably, Elfman composed this now-famous piece – considered by many to be his most successful work – in just two days.
The show’s long opening was created to reduce the amount of new animation needed each week. However, three things do change with every episode: the message Bart writes on the chalkboard, the song during Lisa’s saxophone performance, and the final couch gag, which is sometimes longer or shorter depending on the episode.
Matt Groening decided to set ‘The Simpsons’ in a town called Springfield because it’s a very common city name – found in at least 29 states. He later told Smithsonian Magazine in 2012 that the name was inspired by Springfield, Oregon, which is near where he grew up in Portland. However, he deliberately chose not to specify which state his fictional Springfield was in. He explained that he hoped it would allow viewers to believe the town was their Springfield, and he says that’s exactly what happened.
I was honestly shocked to learn the Bush family didn’t care for The Simpsons! Apparently, back in October 1990, Barbara Bush publicly called it “the dumbest thing [she] had ever seen.” Can you believe that? The writers were amazing though – they actually had Marge Simpson write a letter defending the show, pointing out that the family was doing their best. It was a really clever response! Thankfully, Mrs. Bush later apologized, which was good to see.
In early 1992, while campaigning for re-election, President George H.W. Bush stated he wanted to help American families become more like the wholesome Waltons and less like the mischievous Simpsons. In the very next episode of The Simpsons – a rerun – the show responded with a scene of the family watching Bush’s speech. Bart quips, “Hey, we’re just like the Waltons. We’re praying for an end to the depression, too.”
For many years, the show was a regular part of Sunday nights. However, because it quickly became popular – marking the first time a Fox series cracked the top 30 shows in its first season – the network decided to move it to Thursdays. This put it in direct competition with The Cosby Show, which was the most-watched program at the time. It stayed on Thursdays for five seasons before returning to its original Sunday timeslot.
Yeardly Smith, who voices Lisa Simpson, is unique among the show’s main actors because she consistently voices just that one character.
As a lifestyle expert, I always appreciate seeing talent get the recognition it deserves! That’s exactly what happened with the show – for a long time, Fox and the team intentionally kept the voice actors’ roles under wraps, even closing recording sessions and avoiding any photos. But with the episode ‘Old Money,’ they finally decided it was time to give these incredibly talented performers the credit they earned by revealing who voiced each character. It’s a great reminder that acknowledging hard work makes everyone feel good!
For many years, the six main actors on the show earned just $30,000 per episode. In 1998, after a disagreement with the network – who even threatened to recast the show – creator Matt Groening intervened and secured them a raise to $125,000 per episode. Later, in April 2004, the actors went on strike for a month, refusing to participate in script readings, hoping to earn more from the show’s increasing profits. This resulted in their salaries increasing to between $250,000 and $360,000 per episode.
In 2011, Fox nearly canceled the show due to high production costs. To save it, the cast agreed to a 30% pay reduction. They had previously been earning $400,000 per episode – a rate negotiated in 2008 – bringing their pay down to just over $300,000 per episode.
Matt Groening himself provides the baby sounds for Maggie. When Maggie surprisingly said her first word – “Daddy!” – in 1992, the show famously used the voice of Elizabeth Taylor.
The 1990 album The Simpsons Sing the Blues featured the hit single “Do the Bartman,” which many people thought was written by Michael Jackson. However, creator Matt Groening initially stated that Jackson’s friend, Bryan Loren, was the sole songwriter. Years later, in 1998, Groening revealed that Jackson actually co-wrote and co-produced the song, but couldn’t be officially credited due to contract limitations. When Jackson appeared as a guest on the show, he used the pseudonym John Jay Smith, and his character’s singing was performed by a voice double, Kipp Lennon.
Michael Jackson wasn’t the only well-known actor to use a fake name on the show. In the second season, Dustin Hoffman played Lisa’s substitute teacher, Mr. Bergstrom, but he credited himself as Sam Etic. He didn’t want to be strongly associated with a cartoon, so he chose a name that was a pun on the word ‘Semitic’.
The striking resemblance between Krusty the Clown and Homer Simpson was intentional. Creator Matt Groening originally wanted the show to explore a son who didn’t respect his father but idolized a clown who looked just like him. They even considered a storyline where Homer was secretly working as Krusty, but it proved too complex for the series and was ultimately abandoned.
In a 2003 episode of The Simpsons, Homer’s email address—ChunkyLover53@aol.com—was revealed. Surprisingly, the show’s writer, Matt Selman, had actually created the account beforehand. Almost immediately after the episode aired, the inbox was flooded with so many messages it reached its limit.
Though now officially recognized in the Oxford English Dictionary, Homer Simpson’s famous “D’oh!” is originally written in scripts as just “annoyed grunt.” Dan Castellaneta, who has voiced Homer for over thirty years, credits the sound’s inspiration to a similar “Doooooh!” delivered by Jimmy Finlayson in classic Laurel and Hardy films.
Almost all the characters in The Simpsons have four fingers, but God is the only one depicted with five.
The show has a surprising ability to foresee events. Back in 2000, an episode joked that Donald Trump would one day be President and leave the country in financial trouble. And in 1998, it predicted that 20th Century Fox would become part of The Walt Disney Company – something that actually happened in 2019.
In 1992, Sam Simon’s ex-wife, Joyce Ullman, sued Fox, arguing that her ideas were the basis for the success of The Simpsons and that she deserved a share of the show’s earnings. However, the court dismissed her claim.
In 1997, Fox and Pepsi teamed up to create a full-size replica of the Simpsons’ house in Henderson, Nevada, as part of a contest. The house, which had four bedrooms and covered 2,200 square feet, was carefully recreated in detail. However, the winner, a retired factory worker from Kentucky, chose a $75,000 cash prize instead of taking ownership. The house, which originally cost $120,000 to build, was eventually sold in 2001 after its distinctive colors were removed.
The show is now available in Japanese, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French (both standard and Quebec versions), and Arabic. To make it suitable for viewers in Arabic-speaking countries and respect Islamic customs, some changes were made: Homer drinks soda instead of beer, enjoys Egyptian beef sausages instead of hot dogs, and is known as Omar Shamshoom.
The voice actors who dubbed Homer and Marge into French, Philippe Peythieu and Véronique Augereau, first met while auditioning and later married ten years after that initial meeting.
28. Homer is the only character who has dialogue in every single episode.
In 1999, Time magazine named Bart Simpson to its list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. He was the only cartoon character to make the list.
Watching all the episodes of this show, as they’ve aired over the past three decades, would take more than 14 straight days.
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2026-02-15 21:18