‘The Simpsons’ Renewed For Two More Seasons

The Simpsons has been renewed for two more seasons, giving fans of the popular Fox animated sitcom at least two more years to enjoy the antics of Homer, Bart, and the gang, MSN is reporting.

“Homer Simpson,” speaking to MSN, shared his excitement.

“I’ve outlasted Letterman, Jon Stewart and ‘McDreamy,’ because I have something they don’t: a costly 200-donut-a-day addiction.”

In fact, The Simpsons has outlasted about every scripted, prime-time show in TV history except Gunsmoke, according to Slash Film. Running from 1955 until 1975, Gunsmoke‘s longevity record was surpassed by The Simpsons years ago – The Simpsons is already in its 26th season. But in terms of sheer number of episodes, Gunsmoke (635 episodes) has the edge; The Simpsons will still be ten shy of the record at the end of its 28th season, and it’s only been renewed through the 28th.

Whether or not The Simpsons will pass that remark remains to be seen. Slash Film writer Russ Fischer believes that the venerable animated sitcom is phoning it in at this point, trying to cast towards the finish line based on inertia if nothing else.

“The Simpsons is in an unusual position in that the current episodes seem more like reminders for prior seasons and merchandise than the other way around. There’s no question that the show remains a cultural force — the streaming debut of the entire series caused a sensation, if not entirely for the right reasons, and the characters are going strong in video games and merchandise. At this point, The Simpsons can do just about whatever it wants until it crosses that 636-episode line.”

The Simpsons originally began as a series of crudely-drawn animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, back during Fox’s early days as a fledgling fourth network, according to The Telegraph. Cartoonist and creator Matt Groening, who had some limited success with his comic “Life In Hell,” was approached by screenwriter James L. Brooks and asked to come up with some animated shorts to give Tracey Ullman some punch.

The rest, as they say, is history. 26 years later, Tracey Ullman is an afterthought, while The Simpsons remains a major cultural and merchandising juggernaut, and shows no signs of slowing down. It’s also the source of countless catchphrases, including “D’Oh!,” “Eat My Shorts,” and “Aya Carumba.”

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[Image courtesy of Shutterstock/PAISAN HOMHUAN]