‘The Simpsons’ Showrunner Explains Exactly How the Series Will End

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The popular television series “The Simpsons” is now in its 36th season and marked the 35th anniversary of its initial broadcast premiere. Ending a cherished show is always challenging, but wrapping up one as iconic and trailblazing as “The Simpsons” seems practically “unattainable,” says executive producer and showrunner Matt Selman. He shared insights about how he envisions the end of this long-running and adored animated series.

In a conversation with The New York Post, Selman mentioned that a traditional ending for The Simpsons seems “unattainable.” However, the idea of an ending has undeniably been on the creators’ minds. The premiere of the 36th season subtly mocked the sentimentality that many series exhibit when they conclude their run. The episode labeled as a “series finale” humorously addressed overly sweet show endings and also hinted at the actual ending of The Simpsons, which is inevitable at some point in time.

According to Selman, the difficult nature of creating a final episode is what inspired the staged series finale. He explained that it felt almost impossible for the show to end, and producing a sentimental, cliched finale like many others do would be disappointing. Instead, they opted for an over-the-top ending to keep things interesting.

Additionally, Selman stated that the true finale of The Simpsons will simply be a typical episode, where the team decides to call it quits after the fact. Essentially, the characters in this unconventional series do not age, so they might choose an existing episode and declare it as the last one. There will be no self-referential elements or perhaps just a single humorous reference to the finale.

As a die-hard fan of The Simpsons, I must admit that the showrunner pointed out an interesting aspect for the last episode. He emphasized that the series, despite being a group of misfits, thrives on their unity as a band of oddballs. In fact, he envisioned a heartwarming family story to conclude this iconic show.

Tracing The Simpsons’ Origin Story

35 years ago, on December 17, 1989, the initial broadcast of “The Simpsons” was aired, but the characters we know today were actually born earlier. They first appeared in an animated short on “The Tracey Ullman Show” as early as April 19, 1987, where they stayed for three seasons before moving to their own show.

Matt Groening drew inspiration for the characters in “The Simpsons” from his own family members, a fact he revealed in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine back in 2012.

I had been creating my weekly comic strip named ‘Life in Hell’ for approximately five years when I received a call from Jim Brooks, who was working on developing ‘The Tracey Ullman Show’ for the newly formed Fox network. He invited me to pitch an idea for making small cartoons within that show.

In my artwork, I created my own family. My dad is named Homer, and Mom goes by Margaret. I have two sisters: Lisa and Maggie. So, I included everyone in my drawing. Originally, I planned to call the lead character Matt, but I thought it might not resonate during a pitch presentation, so I opted for Bart instead.

After debuting as a solo production in 1989, “The Simpsons” found itself thriving during its “golden era” in the 1990s, taking center stage on Fox. This legendary show is not just famous; it holds a significant place in history, being the longest-running American animated series, the longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.

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2025-01-07 20:31