Portal:The Simpsons

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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, in an unspecified location in the United States, it caricatures society, Western culture, television and the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 790 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of 2024. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons was initially a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television; 20th Television's involvement was later moved to 20th Television Animation, a separate unit of Disney Television Studios. On April 2, 2025, the show was renewed for four additional seasons on Fox, with 15 episodes each. (Full article...)

Selected article

Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He has become perhaps the most popular of the members of the hugely successful Simpsons cartoon family, and his catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, intolerant, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences. Although gluttonous, lazy, accident-prone and extraordinarily stupid, he has occasionally displayed flashes of brilliance and an integrity reflecting his own values, including a fierce devotion to and protectiveness of his family. He has been described by the UK newspaper The Times as the greatest comedic creation of modern time.

Selected image

Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992. Back row, left to right: Mike Mendel, Colin ABV Lewis (partial), Jeff Goldstein, Al Jean (partial), Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Mike Reiss, Ken Tsumara, George Meyer, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti (partial), CJ Gibson and David M. Stern. Front row, left to right: Dee Capelli, Lona Williams and Leslie Richter.

Character quote

“

All I remember about the last two months is giving a guest lecture at Villanova... or maybe it was a street corner.

”

— Barney Gumble ("The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson")

Main Topics

Selected episode

"Bart of Darkness" is the first episode of The Simpsons' sixth season, which originally aired September 4, 1994. It was written by Dan McGrath, and directed by Jim Reardon. In the episode, Bart breaks his leg; his resultant isolation causes him to believe that Ned Flanders has committed murder. The episode was produced during the 1994 Northridge earthquake which held up production by a month, and is largely a parody of the film Rear Window.

Did you know...

...that in 1993, the producers submitted "A Streetcar Named Marge" and "Mr. Plow" in the "Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series" category but did not receive a nomination?

... that for "Homerpalooza", Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Pearl Jam and Hole were all sought to guest star but all four turned the offer down?

...that "Do the Bartman" was co-written and produced by Michael Jackson, even though he received no credit when the song was released?

General images -

The following are images from various The Simpsons-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 2"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996
Image 3Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 4The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 5Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 6Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 7A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 8The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 9
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 10In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 11Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 12David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.
Image 13The show was criticized by several conservatives. Among those were President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 14Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 15In 1991, Nancy Cartwright accepted a Kids' Choice Awards while wearing a Bart Simpson costume. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 16Voice actor Phil Hartman was murdered in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 17Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 18
David Mirkin
Image 19The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 20In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)

Selected quote

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