The Simpsons (TV Series)

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This article is about the television show. For the franchise, see The Simpsons (franchise). For other uses, see The Simpsons (disambiguation).

The Simpsons
The Simpson family. From left to right: Bart, Marge, Santa's Little Helper (dog), Maggie, Homer, Lisa, and Snowball II(cat)
Genre	Animated sitcom
Created by	Matt Groening
Based on	The Simpsons shorts by Matt Groening
Developed by	James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon
Voices of	Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Hank Azaria Harry Shearer (Complete list)
Theme music composer	Danny Elfman
Opening theme	"The Simpsons Theme"
Composer(s)	Richard Gibbs (1989–1990) Alf Clausen (1990–2017) Bleeding Fingers Music (2017–present)
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of Seasons	31
No. of episodes	672 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	List
Running time	21–24 minutes
Production company(s)	20th Century Fox Television Gracie Films The Curiosity Company (2015–present, uncredited) ^[a]
Distributor	20th Television
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox
Picture format	480i (1989–2009) 720p (16:9 HDTV) (2009–present)
Audio format	Stereo (1989–1991) Dolby Surround 2.0 (1991–2009) Dolby Digital 5.1 (2009–present)
Original run	December 17, 1989 – present
Chronology
Preceded by	The Simpsons shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show
External links
Official website

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of working-class life epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television, and the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–90).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 672 episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in terms of seasons and number of episodes. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. Then on October 30, 2007, a video game was released. Currently, The Simpsons finished airing its thirtieth season, which began airing September 30, 2018. The Simpsons was renewed for a thirty-first and thirty-second season on February 6, 2019, the latter of which will contain the 700th episode. The Simpsons is a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television.

The Simpsons received acclaim throughout its first nine or ten seasons, which are generally considered its "Golden Age". Time named it the 20th century's best television series, and Erik Adams of The A.V. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 34 Primetime Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards, and a Peabody Award. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many other later adult-oriented animated sitcoms. However, it has also been criticized for a perceived decline in quality over the years.

[edit] Premise

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of The Simpsons characters

[edit] Setting

[edit] Production

[edit] Development

Main article: History of The Simpsons and The Simpsons shorts

[edit] Executive producers and showrunners

File:Matt Groening by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg

Matt Groening, creator

[edit] Writing

Main article: List of The Simpsons writers

[edit] Voice actors

[edit] Animation

[edit] Themes

Main article: Media in The Simpsons, Politics in The Simpsons, and Religion in The Simpsons

[edit] Hallmarks

[edit] Opening sequence

Main article: The Simpsons opening sequence

[edit] Halloween episodes

Main article: Treehouse of Horror

[edit] Humor

[edit] =Foreshadowing of actual events

[edit] Influence and legacy

[edit] Idioms

[edit] Television

[edit] Reception and achievements

Season	Time Slot (ET)	Season premiere	Season finale	TV season	No. of episodes	Avg. viewers (in millions)	Most watched episode	Viewers (millions)

[edit] Early success

[edit] Run length achievements

[edit] Awards and accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons

File:The Simpsons star.jpg

The Simpsons have been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[edit] Criticism

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Ban

[edit] Declining quality

[edit] Apu controversy

[edit] Other media

Main article: The Simpsons (franchise)

[edit] Comic books

Main article: List of The Simpsons comics

[edit] Film

Main article: The Simpsons Movie

[edit] Music

Main article The Simpsons discography

[edit] The Simpsons Ride

Main article: The Simpsons Ride

[edit] Video games

Further information: List of The Simpsons video games

[edit] Syndication

[edit] Streaming and digital sell-through

[edit] Merchandise

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

a. ^ Animation for the series is outsourced to Klasky Csupo for seasons 1–3, Film Roman from seasons 4–27 and Fox Television Animation from season 28 onwards.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 | align="center" colspan=3 bgcolor="#A9A9F5" style="border-bottom:1px solid gray; font-size:130%;" |<span style="color: black;">'''The Simpsons'''</span><br>
 |-
-| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="3" |The [[The Simpson Family|Simpson family]] in front of [[The Simpsons House|their house]]. Clockwise from top left: [[Marge Simpson|Marge]], [[Homer Simpson|Homer]], [[Bart Simpson|Bart]], [[Santa's Little Helper]] {{small|(dog)}}, [[The Simpson Family#Snowball II|Snowball II]] {{small|(cat)}}, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]], and [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] in the center
+| bgcolor=#ffffff align="center" colspan="3" |The [[The Simpson Family|Simpson family]]. From left to right: [[Bart Simpson|Bart]], [[Marge Simpson|Marge]], [[Santa's Little Helper]] (dog), [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]], [[Homer Simpson|Homer]], [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]], and [[The Simpson Family#Snowball II|Snowball II]](cat)
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Genre'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Animated Sitcom|Animated sitcom]]<br>[[Sitcom]]<br>[[Adult Animation|Adult animation]]
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Animated Sitcom|Animated sitcom]]
-|- valign="top"
-| style="text-align: left;"|'''Format'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Satire]]
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Created by'''
 | bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Matt Groening]]
+|- valign="top"
+| style="text-align: left;"|'''Based on'''
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |{{Based on|[[The Simpsons Shorts|''The Simpsons'' shorts]]|Matt Groening}}
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Developed by'''
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Voices of'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Dan Castellaneta]]<br>[[Julie Kavner]]<br>[[Nancy Cartwright]]<br>[[Yeardley Smith]]<br>[[Hank Azaria]]<br>[[Harry Shearer]]<br>([[List of Simpsons Cast Characters|Complete list]])
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Dan Castellaneta]]<br>[[Julie Kavner]]<br>[[Nancy Cartwright]]<br>[[Yeardley Smith]]<br>[[Hank Azaria]]<br>[[Harry Shearer]]<br>([[List of The Simpsons Cast Members|Complete list]])
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Theme music composer'''
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Opening theme'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |"The Simpsons Theme"
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |"[[The Simpsons Theme|''The Simpsons'' Theme]]"
 |- valign="top"
-| style="text-align: left;"|'''Composer'''
+| style="text-align: left;"|'''Composer(s)'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Alf Clausen]]
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Richard Gibbs]] (1989–1990)<br />[[Alf Clausen]] (1990–2017)<br />[[Bleeding Fingers Music]] (2017–present)
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Country of origin'''
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''No. of Seasons'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |25
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |31
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''No. of episodes'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |552 ([[List of The Simpsons Episodes)|List of episodes]])
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |672 ([[List of The Simpsons Episodes)|List of episodes]])
 |- valign="top"
 | bgcolor="#A9A9F5" align="center" colspan="3" |'''Production'''
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Executive producer(s)'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Al Jean]]<br>[[John Frink]]<br>James L. Brooks<br>Matt Groening<br>[[Matt Selman]]<br>Sam Simon
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |'''List'''
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Running time'''
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Production company(s)'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Gracie Films]]<br>[[20th Century Fox Television]]<br>[[Klasky Csupo]] {{small|(1989–1992)}}<br>[[Film Roman]] {{small|(1992–present)}}
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[20th Century Fox Television]]<br>[[Gracie Films]]<br>[[The Curiosity Company]] <small>(2015–present, uncredited)</small><br>{{small|<sup>[a]</sup>}}
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Distributor'''
@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Original channel'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Fox Broadcasting Company (Television Network)|FOX]]
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Fox Broadcasting Company (Television Network)|Fox]]
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Picture format'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[480i]]/[[576i]] ([[4:3]] [[Standard-Definition Television|SDTV]]) (1989–2009)<br>[[720p]] ([[16:9]] [[High-Definition Television|HDTV]]) (2009–present)
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[480i]] (1989–2009)<br />[[720p]] ([[16:9]] [[High-Definition Television|HDTV]]) (2009–present)
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Audio format'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Stereophonic Sound|Stereo]] (1989–1991)<br>[[Dolby Surround]] 2.0 (1991–2009)<br>[[5.1 Surround Sound|5.1 surround sound]] (2009–present)
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |[[Stereophonic sound|Stereo]] (1989–1991)<br />[[Dolby Surround]] 2.0 (1991–2009)<br />[[Dolby Digital]] 5.1 (2009–present)
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Original run'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |December 17, 1989 – present
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |December 17, 1989 –<br>present
 |- valign="top"
 | bgcolor="#A9A9F5" align="center" colspan="3" |'''Chronology'''
 |- valign="top"
 | style="text-align: left;"|'''Preceded by'''
-| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |''[[The Simpsons Shorts|The Simpsons shorts]] from [[The Tracey Ullman Show]]''
+| bgcolor="#ffffff" colspan= "2" |''[[The Simpsons Shorts|The Simpsons shorts]] from<br>[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]''
 |- valign="top"
 | bgcolor="#A9A9F5" align="center" colspan="3" |'''External links'''
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
 The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of [[The Simpsons Shorts|animated shorts]] with producer [[James L. Brooks]]. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'' on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour [[Prime Time|prime time]] show and became an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–90).
-Since its debut on December 17, 1989, [[List of The Simpsons episodes|{{:The Simpsons}} episodes]] of ''The Simpsons'' have been broadcast. Its [[The Simpsons (Season 28)|28th season]] began on September 25, 2016. It is the [[List of Longest-Running U.S. Primetime Television Series|longest-running]] American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program, and, in 2009, it surpassed ''[[Gunsmoke#Television version|Gunsmoke]]'' as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. ''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'', a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. On May 4, 2015, the series was renewed for seasons 27 (2015–16) and 28 (2016–17), consisting of 22 episodes each. On November 4, 2016, the series was renewed for seasons 29 (2017–18) and 30 (2018–19), consisting of 22 episodes each.
+Since its debut on December 17, 1989, [[List of The Simpsons Episodes|672<!--{{:The Simpsons}}--> episodes]] of ''The Simpsons'' have been broadcast. It is the [[List of Longest-Running U.S. Primetime Television Series|longest-running]] American sitcom, and the [[List of Longest-Running Scripted U.S. Primetime Television Series|longest-running American scripted primetime television series]], both in terms of seasons and number of episodes. ''[[The Simpsons Movie (2007 film)|The Simpsons Movie]]'', a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527&nbsp;million. Then on October 30, 2007, [[The Simpsons Game|a video game]] was released. Currently, ''The Simpsons'' finished airing its thirtieth season, which began airing September 30, 2018. ''The Simpsons'' was renewed for a thirty-first and thirty-second season on February 6, 2019, the latter of which will contain the 700th episode. ''The Simpsons'' is a joint production by [[Gracie Films]] and [[20th Century Fox Television]] and syndicated by [[20th Television]].
-''The Simpsons'' received widespread critical acclaim throughout its first nine seasons, which are generally considered its "Golden Age". ''[[Time (Magazine)|Time]]'' named it the 20th century's best television series, and ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 31 [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s, 30 [[Annie Award]]s, and a [[Peabody Award]]. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "[[D'oh!]]" has been adopted into the English language, while ''The Simpsons'' has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms. Despite this, the show has also been criticized for what many perceive as a decline in quality over the years.
+''The Simpsons'' received acclaim throughout its first nine or ten seasons, which are generally considered its "Golden Age". ''[[Time (Magazine)|Time]]'' named it the 20th century's best television series, and Erik Adams of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 34 [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s, 34 [[Annie Award]]s, and a [[Peabody Award]]. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "[[D'oh!]]" has been adopted into the English language, while ''The Simpsons'' has influenced many other later adult-oriented animated sitcoms.<!--The impending Futurama/Family Guy crossovers are mentioned in the 'Influence on TV' section. They do not need to be mentioned here.--> However, it has also been criticized for a perceived decline in quality over the years.
 ==Premise==
@@ Line 101: / Line 101: @@
 ===Executive producers and showrunners===
 [[File:Matt Groening by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Matt Groening]], creator]]
-<div class="infobox" style="width:40em; font-size:85%; padding-left:5px; width:360px;">
+<div class="infobox" style="width:40em; font-size:95%; padding-left:750px; width:400px;">
 '''List of showrunners throughout the series' run:'''
 *Season 1–2: [[Matt Groening]], [[James L. Brooks]], & [[Sam Simon]]
@@ Line 130: / Line 130: @@
 ===Humor===
+====Foreshadowing of actual events===
 ==Influence and legacy==
@@ Line 139: / Line 140: @@
 ==Reception and achievements==
-{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
+{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px; style="font-size: 100%;" style="text-align:center;"
 |-
-! Season
+! bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|Season
-! Time Slot ([[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|ET]])
+! bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|Time Slot ([[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|ET]])
-!class="unsortable"|Season premiere
+!class="unsortable" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|Season premiere
-!class="unsortable"|Season finale
+!class="unsortable" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|Season finale
-!class="unsortable"|TV season
+!class="unsortable" bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|TV season
-! No. of<br />episodes
+!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|No. of<br />episodes
-! Avg. viewers<br />(in millions)
+!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|Avg. viewers<br />(in millions)
-! Most watched episode
+!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|Most watched episode
-! Viewers<br />(millions)
+!bgcolor="#e3e3e3"|Viewers<br />(millions)
 |-
 |}
@@ Line 168: / Line 169: @@
 ====Declining quality====
+====Apu controversy====
 ==Other media==
@@ Line 176: / Line 179: @@
 ===Film===
-:''Main article: [[The Simpsons Movie]]''
+:''Main article: [[The Simpsons Movie (2007 film)|The Simpsons Movie]]''
 ===Music===
@@ Line 187: / Line 190: @@
 :''Further information: [[List of The Simpsons Video Games|List of The Simpsons video games]]''
-==Syndication and streaming availability==
+==Syndication==
-==Merchandise==
+==Streaming and digital sell-through==
-''See also: [[List of The Simpsons Books|List of The Simpsons books]] and [[List of The Simpsons Home Video Releases]]List of The Simpsons home video releases]]''
-==Frinkiac==
+==Merchandise==
+''See also: [[List of The Simpsons Books|List of The Simpsons books]] and [[List of The Simpsons Home Video Releases|List of The Simpsons home video releases]]''
 ==References==
 ===Notes===
+:a. {{note|KlaskyFox}} Animation for the series is outsourced to [[Klasky Csupo]] for seasons 1–3, [[Film Roman]] from seasons 4–27 and [[Fox Television Animation]] from season 28 onwards.
 ===Bibliography===