The Simpons is airing all 600 episodes in its series via a 24/7 marathon on FXX. There’s no better example of the show’s longevity than a marathon of such length, which is packed with a cornucopia of satirical insights and cultural examinations that have defined the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
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At this point, The Simpsons’ well of jokes and references runs behind the scenes anecdotes runs so deep that trivia about the show is almost prolific as the show itself. Today we have a fun piece of Simpsons trivia to share: a nice little anecdote about the creation of Bart Simpson’s best friend, Milhouse.
Photo: (David Silverman)
According to a Facebook post from one of The Simpsons’ original character designers and animators, David Silverman, Milhouse wasn’t originally a character planned for the show; rather, Milhouse was “was invented for the 1st Butterfinger commercial. He was a design Matt Groening had done for a planned NBC cartoon show – which they abandoned.”
One can only wonder what kind of animated series Groening pitched to NBC; whatever it was, it definitely wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long as The Simpsons has. In fact, on NBC, it would’ve been lucky to last for one season.
Whatever the case, this is yet another piece of interesting trivia to add to The Simpsons collection. As stated, there’s so much trivia buried in the show’s multi-decade run that they can (will?) probably make an entire Trivial Pursuit Simpsons edition. Or maybe The Simpsons already did that…
The Simpsons is in the midst of airing season 28, Sundays @ 8/7c on Fox. Seasons 29 and 30 have already been confirmed.
