The Simpsons to Make Major Change For Show’s Future

As of the writing of this article, The Simpsons has confirmed that it will run for forty seasons, becoming the longest-running North American animated series of all time. Thanks to such a long run, the Fox show has had to make some big changes to keep following the residents of Springfield. In recent years, various characters have been recast, and some voice actors have decided to retire as Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie’s story marches forward. In a recent interview, The Simpsons’ current showrunner confirmed that another major change is taking place in the show’s future that will break a long-running tradition.

In a recent interview with the podcast “Four Finger Discount,” The Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman was asked why the intro and couch gags had been removed in the thirty-seventh season. Quick to respond, Selman broke down the reasoning behind why these classic segments had been nixed, “I wish we could have the time for a funny couch gag every episode, but I’m not going to cut the storytelling short to do so. I want to tell the best story we can, and to do that, we’re going to need twenty minutes and forty seconds.” Selman is referring to the general length of each episode.

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Selman confirmed that if it were up to him, every episode moving forward would still have the intro gags that have long been a part of The Simpsons’ history, “I mean, if I had infinite money, I would put a couch gag on every episode that would just pop up on streaming and you’d be surprised by it. We have to put our money on the main product first, but that ‘skip intro’ phenomenon you mentioned, we have a joke about that in a double episode, “Extreme Makeover Homer Edition” episode. You’re thinking the way we’re thinking.”

While The Simpsons continues to air new episodes weekly on Fox, it has also been streaming on Disney+ and Hulu to stay up to date in this new digital world. In fact, on April 19th, “World Simpsons Day,” the franchise is planning to release an installment that Selman had mentioned earlier. This special will be the longest episode to date, according to Selman, who touched on the fact that it will run longer than two full episodes, with plenty of segments making up the totality of the installment.

To date, The Simpsons hasn’t confirmed whether the fortieth season will be its last, but Fox has yet to confirm the show’s future one way or the other. Luckily, the franchise will have at least one more time to shine on the silver screen, as the series has confirmed that a new Simpsons movie is on the way. Set to arrive on September 3, 2027, The Simpsons Movie 2 still hasn’t revealed its story, but it’s sure to be a big one if the first film is any indication.

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