In not all that shocking news, Deadline’s reporting that Fox has renewed The Simpsons for another season:
“The Simpsons will cross the 500 episode mark with a 23rd season at Fox, which will bring the number of episodes of the animated series to 515.”
The Simpsons Movie is also set to have its broadcast premiere on Fox on Thanksgiving day.
I can’t even remember a time when The Simpsons wasn't on the air. I think we all kind of take the show’s success for granted. 23 seasons is absolutely ridiculous. Think about it. That’s longer than Friends, Mash, or ER. In fact, The Simpsons is the longest running scripted primetime show in the history of television. Its upcoming 500 episode is a huge milestone that I’m sure Matt Groening never even dreamed of when he first came up with the idea.
But 23 seasons is still well short of Meet the Press, which is the longest running show ever. It’s at 62 seasons and counting. The longest running scripted series is The Guiding Light, the daytime soap that most of our mothers and Tom Pinchuk were addicted to. It hit 57 seasons before coming off the air. Still there’s a lot more turnover in primetime, so The Simpsons run is just as impressive.
I can’t help but think about that South Park with “The Simpsons did it” joke. After 22 seasons, they probably have done nearly everything you can do in a show. Let's see how much longer they can keep it up.
