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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, it caricatures society, Western culture, television and the human condition, and is still in current release.

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, 782 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. (Full article...)

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Nedward "Ned" Flanders is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally loathed by Homer Simpson. A devout Christian, he is amongst the most friendly and compassionate Springfieldians and is generally considered a pillar of the Springfield community.

He was one of the first characters outside of the immediate Simpson family to appear on the show, and he has since been central to several episodes, the first being season two's "Dead Putting Society".

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Credit: Joe Shlabotnik

The outside of The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Florida.

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“

Your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing, Homer. I may have to steal it.

”

— Stephen Hawking ("They Saved Lisa's Brain")

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"A Streetcar Named Marge" is the second episode of The Simpsons' fourth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 1, 1992. In the episode, Marge wins the role of Blanche DuBois in a musical version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Homer is apathetic to his wife's acting pursuits, and Marge begins to see parallels between him and Stanley Kowalski, the play's boorish lead male character. The episode contains a subplot in which Maggie Simpson attempts to retrieve her pacifier from a strict daycare attendant. Jeff Martin wrote the episode, and Rich Moore served as director. Jon Lovitz made his fourth guest appearance on The Simpsons, this time as musical director Llewellyn Sinclair, as well as Llewellyn's sister, who runs the daycare. The episode generated controversy for its original song about New Orleans, which contains several unflattering lyrics about the city. One New Orleans newspaper published the lyrics before the episode aired, prompting numerous complaints to the local Fox affiliate. In response, the president of Fox Broadcasting issued an apology to anyone who was offended. Despite the controversial song, the episode was well-received by many fans, and show creator Matt Groening has named it one of his favorite episodes.

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Did you know...

...that The Simpsons' history began when Matt Groening conceived of the dysfunctional family in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office?

...that when Dan Castellaneta was trying a voice for Groundskeeper Willie, he tried using a Spanish voice, and a "big dumb Swede" before using the voice of an angry Scotsman?

...that Bart Simpson's catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Nancy Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to an incident when she was at college?

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

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

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First off there are 50 or so characters. We can really do different episodes every week and not stretch it as thin. And the fact that our characters don't age means we won't have shows coming out later where people will say, "This isn't the 'Happy Days' I fell in love with. Fonzie's teaching high school now." We all work really hard, the actors and the writers, to make it the best show it can be.

— Al Jean

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