1 day Ago By Nick Valdez
20th Television AnimationThe Simpsons has now been renewed for new episodes through Season 40 in a milestone deal with Fox, and it now has the perfect opportunity to come to an end thanks to this big deal. It was recently announced by Fox that they have renewed four of their biggest animated franchises for four new seasons each in a historic television moment. The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy and even American Dad! (which is returning to the network after over a decade) now have their futures more set in stone than ever before, but that’s never really been a question for The Simpsons though.
Even as The Simpsons celebrates its 35th anniversary this past year with Season 36 of the series airing new episodes this Spring, there was never really any question as to whether or not the long running animated sitcom would continue. Those behind the scenes had been moving forward as planned before the renewals were even confirmed, and it’s hard not to see why considering that The Simpsons has been running for so long..
.it’s probably never going to stop. But now there’s a perfect stopping point with Season 40 coming sooner than you think.
20th Television AnimationThe Simpsons Should End at Season 40The Simpsons has already gone far beyond many potential milestones that would have been the “perfect” way to end it on. The Simpsons could have ended at Season 5, Season 10, 15, 20..
.you get the idea. Any of these big milestones would have been an excellent place to wind it down, but The Simpsons just kept charging through each one.
Now it’s looking like the series is going to go on forever, but that’s unfortunately impossible in its current iteration. If the show has to end someday, doing so after these four additional seasons would be a great way to say farewell after how far it’s all come. The Simpsons has long since become the longest animated series ever produced in the United States, and has since become the longest broadcast series in TV history in the country.
These additional four seasons will continue to stack onto that mountain, and that means by the end of Season 40 it’s going to have well over 800 episodes by the time that milestone rolls around. While the series could theoretically go on forever, it might be time to use this upcoming Season 40 as a way to get ready for the eventual end of it all. It’s not for a lack of interest, however, as with this deal Fox clearly revealed they have a vested interest in keeping up their adult animation slate.
It’s been a big deal within Disney over the last few years especially as not only have they continued to give new seasons to shows making their debut with the Animation Domination block, but they are also supporting the Hulu streaming service with streaming deals for each of them as well. Not to mention all of the exclusive shows now streaming with the platform. But that’s not what’s going to bring The Simpsons to an end.
RELATED: Sorry Disney+, This Is Actually the Best Order to Watch The Simpsons20th Television AnimationThe Simpsons Physically Can’t Go On ForeverWhat’s ultimately going to bring The Simpsons to an end is the cast behind it all. The central voice cast has been with the franchise since the very beginning 35 years ago, and it’s clear that they are not going to be around forever. It’s possible that the show can go the way of Mickey Mouse and simply recast everyone as they have done in the past (such as the now in progress replacements for Pamela Hayden’s characters following her retirement last year), but that’s not going to be a proper longterm solution.
In fact, it can’t be. Part of The Simpsons‘ identity (at least when it comes to the English language release) is the main cast at the center of it all. When the first of them is ready to leave, then The Simpsons is going to fall apart in the attempt to replace them.
The series could replace every other character as the years roll on (as long as it was with real human actors rather than A.I.), but there’s something special about an animated series keeping so much of its central cast intact for such a long time.
And when that changes, that dedicated fanbase will change as well.The Simpsons has become such an institution because so many of the fans who watched from the very beginning are still watching the new episodes week to week, and those will be the first to go when the cast starts to shift. To keep the series from doing that, and barring any unforeseen tragedies, then Season 40 is a perfect place to cap it all.
The show will never end otherwise, so they kind of have to just do it before we get to Season 41 or 43 or something and it’s forced to end in some other way. The post The Simpsons Now Has the Perfect Opportunity to End appeared first on ComicBook.com.
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