I was in 4th grade when The Simpsons first started. I am 37 years old now. That's a hell of a long time and The Simpsons is still running. In fact, today it was announced that The Simpons has surpassed Gunsmoke and become the longest running episodic TV show of all time.
When all was said and done, Gunsmoke ended up with 635 episodes. With The Simpsons and their renewal for a 29th and 30th season, they will surpass Gunsmoke and total a whopping 669 episodes. That is the current count, as the show can always surpass that number with further renewals. The Simpsons has already been on TV longer than any other show, but this will also give them the largest amount of episodes.
“This is yet another record-setting moment for what is truly a landmark series,” Fox TV Group chairmen and CEOS Dana Walden and Gary Newman said. “The Simpsons has meant so much to the network, the studio and everyone at Fox, and its continued cultural impact around the globe is a testament to the combined brilliance of Matt, Jim and Al. Congratulations to everyone who works on this groundbreaking series – from the voice cast and producers to the writers and production team – you comprise one of the greatest collections of creative talent in the history of the medium. And to the millions of Simpsons fans around the world, thank you for watching all these years. We’re happy to tell you there’s lots more to come.”
The Simpsons are wrapping up their 28th season now, and will continue their success through at least 2018 with their 30th season. They've come a long way since The Tracey Ullman show, huh? Who knows, I'm still hoping that in their final episode they'll have some sort of tribute with Ullman on the show as a guest character. I would love for her to be the focal guest character and have the episode end with her waving to The Simpsons family or something. Yeah, I know, feels.
Let us know what you think below and what your favorite episode of The Simpsons is