The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television, and many aspects of the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–90).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the series has broadcast 587 episodes. It is currently airing its 27th season. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. On May 4, 2015, the series was officially renewed for seasons twenty-seven (2015–16) and twenty-eight (2016–17), consisting of 22 episodes each.

The Simpsons (season 24)

The Simpsons' twenty-fourth season began airing on Fox on September 30, 2012 and concluded on May 19, 2013.

Advertising revenue

An August 2011 article in Advertising Age reported that the average cost of a 30-second advertising spot during a first-run episode of The Simpsons was $286,131—up from $254,260 in season 23. In 2012, The Simpsons was the sixth-most expensive television series in the United States to sponsor. The top five were (in ascending order) American Idol (Thursday), New Girl, Modern Family, American Idol (Wednesday), and NBC Sunday Night Football. A first-run, season 24 episode of The Simpsons was the Fox Broadcasting Company's fourth-most expensive program to sponsor, up from fifth in 2011.

Episodes

References

List of The Simpsons video games

The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. It is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society and television, and many aspects of the human condition. The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987 and after a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became a hit series for Fox. The growing popularity of the series motivated video game developers to create video games based on the series. Two pinball machines have also been produced; one self-titled, that was only made available for a limited time after the first season finale (1990) and The Simpsons Pinball Party (2003). Additionally, several handheld device games have been released, such as Bartman: Avenger of Evil (1990) and Bart Simpson's Cupcake Crisis (1991).