Wikiwand AI

Portal:The Simpsons

Wikipedia portal for content related to the animated sitcom, The Simpsons From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Simpsons Portal

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 primetime 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, 809 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 (2007), was released in theaters worldwide to critical and commercial success, with a sequel set to release in 2027. 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 and up to four Disney+ specials each. (Full article...)

Selected article

Phil Hartman (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, writer and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family later immigrated to the United States. He attended California State University, Northridge, graduating with a degree in graphic arts and going on to design several album covers. He joined The Groundlings in 1975 and there helped Paul Reubens to develop his character Pee-wee Herman, co-wrote the screenplay for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse.

Hartman became well-known in the late 1980s when he joined the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He won fame for his impressions, particularly of President Bill Clinton, and stayed on the show for eight seasons. Called "the Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. In 1995, after scrapping plans for his own variety show, he starred as Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He also had frequent roles on The Simpsons, and appeared in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. He was shot dead by his wife Brynn while he slept in his Encino, California home in 1998. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes.

Selected image

A 7-Eleven transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart
A 7-Eleven transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart
Credit: SchmuckyTheCat

A 7-Eleven store in Seattle, July 1, 2007. The store was transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie.

Character quote

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...

Did you know?
  • ...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?
The following are images from various The Simpsons-related articles on Wikipedia.

Selected quote

James L. Brooks
The shorts were getting a great audience response, and Matt had always had this dream of making a prime-time animated program, which was not something that was done at the time. So myself and another producer friend got together with Matt to create 'The Simpsons.' It actually worked out quite well, because I had the background in sitcoms, and Matt had the background in animation, so we complemented each other to create what is today 'The Simpsons.'

Subcategories

Good articles

Did you know? articles

In the News articles

Good topics

WikiProjects

Things you can do

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals


Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks