The Simpsons Exec Addresses the Show's Fan-Fave Death
The audience response to the death of a fairly minor character seems to be a source of satisfaction for the writers.
In Sunday's episode of The Simpsons, titled "Cremains of the Day," the show chronicled the death of Larry Dalrymple, the regular Moe's Tavern barfly who had been a part of the show since the first episode 35 years ago. The episode hit particularly hard for fans -- not just because "real" deaths are uncommon on The Simpsons but also because the episode made it clear how little Larry's friends at the bar gave him a chance to shine during his life. The thrust of the episode, then, became Homer, Moe, Carl and Lenny trying to figure out how to pay tribute to their friend, who always thought of them as his best and only friends in life.
Tim Long, a longtime writer and producer on The Simpsons, told TMZ during a recent conversation that he is actually pretty happy with the dramatic response to Larry's death on social media. After 35 years, it's impressive that The Simpsons can still generate this kind of passion around a relatively minor character.
There's no direct quote in the TMZ article, but here's how they characterize Long's comments:
Long says it doesn't matter how small Larry's role was, because characters on "The Simpsons" don't die often ... so, it's a huge deal when they do.
Tim adds he's sorry to those fans upset about the death, and the sad episode in general ... but, he says he likes that fans seemed to take it as hard as Homer and the gang did during the episode -- because it speaks to how beloved the show still is.
Plus, Long jokingly says 'Flintstones' fans wouldn't have flinched if the show killed off the reviled character, The Great Gazoo ... so, it's nice to know fans care about all the characters who make Springfield what it is.
(For context, The Great Gazoo was a little green alien with magical powers, who frustrated fans of The Flintstones by breaking the show's convention, which was that other than being set in prehistoric times, it was basically just a normal family sitcom.)
If you want to check out The Simpsons Season 35, you can watch the episodes now on Hulu and the previous 34 seasons with Disney+.