The Simpsons has no finish in sight, however do not anticipate a standard sequence finale when the present ultimately wraps up.
Created by Matt Groening, the animated sitcom premiered in 1989 and has been going sturdy ever since. The Simpsons season 37 is about to return to an finish with the sequence’ 800th and 801st episodes, and the present is already confirmed to return for season 38 and past.
Now, in a latest interview with TheWrap, showrunner Matt Selman confirms that he has no plans to ever give audiences a correct Simpsons sequence finale. The attraction of the present, Selman explains, is that every episode kind of resets from what occurred the earlier week, and a ultimate episode, ought to one ever arrive, would not be any totally different or extra sentimental. As he explains:
“We did an episode a few year-and-a-half in the past that was like a parody of the sequence finale. We jammed each attainable sequence finale idea into one present, in order that was type of my method of claiming we’re by no means going to do a sequence finale. We did a sequence finale in the midst of the present that made enjoyable of all of the concepts of wrapping the whole lot up or ending.
“The present isn’t supposed to vary. The characters reset each week. It’s like Groundhog Day however they don’t realize it — they usually don’t die that a lot. If the present ever did finish, there’s no finale, it could simply be an everyday episode that has the household in it. In all probability just a little Easter egg right here and there, however no ‘I’m going to overlook this place.’”
What Selman’s describing when it comes to a scarcity of deal with serialized storytelling is not uncommon for sitcoms. The episodic nature of those exhibits is an enormous a part of their attraction, as it is simple for audiences to leap in with out having seen what occurred the earlier week or final season.
Many sitcoms do have serialized components, nevertheless, and this permits for some type of character progress and for the occasional gut-punch second. No less than a part of the rationale for that is that, in live-action exhibits, actors are getting old, and this lends itself to narrative change. Animated characters, although, like these in The Simpsons, by no means age or change, and that is partly why the sequence has had such longevity.
Selman clearly acknowledges the significance of this side of The Simpsons, that means audiences will not be getting one thing like The Workplace sequence finale, which wrapped up a wide range of character arcs in a extremely sentimental and tear-jerking method whereas additionally primarily shattering the present’s core premise. By the tip, many characters have both left or are poised to go their separate methods.
When The Simpsons does finish, then, viewers can anticipate extra of the identical from Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, however there isn’t any indication that an finish is coming within the close to future. Season 38 is anticipated to premiere this fall, and the present is confirmed to proceed by to no less than season 40.
If viewership stays sturdy, the one actual issue that would immediate an ending is that if The Simpsons voice solid both retire from their roles or go away. That being stated, Pamela Hayden, greatest identified for voicing Milhouse, amongst different characters, retired in 2024, and her roles have been simply recast, an strategy that might be taken if comparable conditions come up with different stars.
It stays to be seen what the longer term holds for the sequence, however Selman is evidently not planning to shake issues up if and when an ending does arrive. The Simpsons household will seemingly be going out the way in which they got here in.
The ultimate two episodes of The Simpsons season 37 will air on Fox at 8 p.m. on February 15.
- Launch Date
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December 17, 1989
- Community
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FOX
- Showrunner
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Al Jean
- Administrators
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Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Rob Oliver, Michael Polcino, Mike B. Anderson, Chris Clements, Wes Archer, Timothy Bailey, Lance Kramer, Nancy Kruse, Matthew Faughnan, Chuck Sheetz, Wealthy Moore, Jeffrey Lynch, Pete Michels, Susie Dietter, Raymond S. Persi, Carlos Baeza, Dominic Polcino, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Marcantel, Neil Affleck, Swinton O. Scott III, Jennifer Moeller
- Writers
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J. Stewart Burns, Michael Worth, Brian Kelley, Invoice Odenkirk, Dan Vebber, Kevin Curran, Stephanie Gillis, Dan Castellaneta, Deb Lacusta, Billy Kimball, Jessica Conrad, Cesar Mazariegos, Daniel Chun, Jennifer Crittenden, Conan O’Brien, Valentina Garza, Elisabeth Kiernan Averick, Christine Nangle, Broti Gupta, Loni Steele Sosthand, Megan Amram, Bob Kushell, David Isaacs, David Mandel
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Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)
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Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)