List of The Simpsons episodes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Simpsons episode guide" redirects here. For list of published episode guides for the series, see The Simpsons episode guides.

Logo The Simpsons.svg

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical depiction of a dysfunctional middle-class American lifestyle starring the eponymous family: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the town of Springfield, the show lampoons both American culture and the human condition.[1] The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with producer James L. Brooks. Groening named each character (other than Bart) after members of his own family. The shorts became part of the Fox series The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.[1][2] After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime-time hit show.[3]

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, The Simpsons has broadcast 706 episodes, as of May 23, 2021. The show holds several American television longevity records. It is the longest-running prime-time animated series and longest-running sitcom in the United States.[4] With its twenty-first season (2009–10), the series surpassed Gunsmoke in seasons to claim the spot as the longest-running American prime-time scripted television series, and later also surpassed Gunsmoke in episode count with the twenty-ninth season episode "Forgive and Regret" on April 29, 2018.[5]

Episodes of The Simpsons have won dozens of awards, including 31 Emmys (ten for Outstanding Animated Program), 30 Annies, and a Peabody.[6] The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and 27, 2007 and grossed US$526.2 million worldwide.[7] The first twenty seasons are available on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4, with the twentieth season released on both DVD and Blu-ray in 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series. On April 8, 2015, showrunner Al Jean announced that there would be no more DVD or Blu-ray releases, shifting focus to digital distribution,[8] although this was later reversed on July 22, 2017.[9] Almost two years later, on July 20, 2019, it was announced that Season 19 would be released on December 3, 2019, on DVD.[10]

On March 3, 2021, The Simpsons was renewed for seasons 33 and 34.[11] On February 19, 2012, The Simpsons reached its 500th episode in the twenty-third season.[12] It reached its 600th episode on October 16, 2016, in its twenty-eighth season. On March 21, 2021, The Simpsons reached its 700th episode[13] in its thirty-second season.

Season 33 is set to debut on Fox on September 26, 2021.[14]

Series overview[]

Ratings[]

See also: The Simpsons § Reception and achievements

With its first season, The Simpsons became the Fox network's first series to rank among the top thirty highest-rated shows of a television season.[15] Due to this success, Fox decided to switch The Simpsons' timeslot in hopes of higher ratings for the shows airing after it.[16] The series moved from 8:00 p.m. eastern time on Sundays to the same time on Thursdays, where it competed with The Cosby Show, the number one show at the time.[17]

Many of the producers were against the move, as The Simpsons had been in the top ten while airing on Sunday, and they felt the move would destroy its ratings.[18] Ratings wise, new episodes of The Cosby Show beat The Simpsons every time during the second season and The Simpsons eventually fell out of the top ten.[19] At the end of the season Cosby averaged as the fifth-highest-rated show on television, while The Simpsons was thirty-eighth.[16]

The show continued in its Thursday timeslot until the sixth season, when, in 1994, it reverted to its original slot on Sunday. It has remained there ever since.[17][20]

Key[]

  • Seasons 1–11 are ranked by households (in millions).
  • Seasons 12–31 are ranked by total viewers (in millions).
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedHouseholds / viewersRankRating
First airedLast aired
113December 17, 1989 (1989-12-17)May 13, 1990 (1990-05-13)13.4m h.[n1][15]3014.5
222October 11, 1990 (1990-10-11)July 11, 1991 (1991-07-11)12.2m h.[n1][n2]38[22]8.0
324September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19)August 27, 1992 (1992-08-27)12.0m h.[n1][n3]33[23]N/A
422September 24, 1992 (1992-09-24)May 13, 1993 (1993-05-13)12.1m h.[n1][24]3013.0
522September 30, 1993 (1993-09-30)May 19, 1994 (1994-05-19)10.5m h.[n1][n4]53[25]N/A
625September 4, 1994 (1994-09-04)May 21, 1995 (1995-05-21)9.0m h.[n1][26]67[26]N/A
725September 17, 1995 (1995-09-17)May 19, 1996 (1996-05-19)8.0m h.[n1][27]75[27]N/A
825October 27, 1996 (1996-10-27)May 18, 1997 (1997-05-18)8.6m h.[28]53[28]N/A
925September 21, 1997 (1997-09-21)May 17, 1998 (1998-05-17)9.1m h.[29]309.2
1023August 23, 1998 (1998-08-23)May 16, 1999 (1999-05-16)7.9m h.[30]46[30]N/A
1122September 26, 1999 (1999-09-26)May 21, 2000 (2000-05-21)8.2m h.[31]44[31]N/A
1221November 1, 2000 (2000-11-01)May 20, 2001 (2001-05-20)14.7m viewers[32]21[32]N/A
1322November 6, 2001 (2001-11-06)May 22, 2002 (2002-05-22)12.4m viewers[33]30[33]N/A
1422November 3, 2002 (2002-11-03)May 18, 2003 (2003-05-18)13.4m viewers[34]25[34]N/A
1522November 2, 2003 (2003-11-02)May 23, 2004 (2004-05-23)10.6m viewers[35]42[35]N/A
1621November 7, 2004 (2004-11-07)May 15, 2005 (2005-05-15)9.6m viewers[36]52[36]N/A
1722September 11, 2005 (2005-09-11)May 21, 2006 (2006-05-21)9.1m viewers[37]62[37]3.2
1822September 10, 2006 (2006-09-10)May 20, 2007 (2007-05-20)8.6m viewers[38]60[38]4.1
1920September 23, 2007 (2007-09-23)May 18, 2008 (2008-05-18)8.0m viewers[39]87[39]N/A
2021September 28, 2008 (2008-09-28)May 17, 2009 (2009-05-17)6.9m viewers[40]77[40]N/A
2123September 27, 2009 (2009-09-27)May 23, 2010 (2010-05-23)7.2m viewers[41]61[41]3.4
2222September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26)May 22, 2011 (2011-05-22)7.3m viewers[42]65[42]3.3
2322September 25, 2011 (2011-09-25)May 20, 2012 (2012-05-20)7.0m viewers[43]69[43]3.3
2422September 30, 2012 (2012-09-30)May 19, 2013 (2013-05-19)6.3m viewers[44]70[44]2.9
2522September 29, 2013 (2013-09-29)May 18, 2014 (2014-05-18)5.6m viewers[45]81[45]N/A
2622September 28, 2014 (2014-09-28)May 17, 2015 (2015-05-17)5.6m viewers[46]100[46]2.6
2722September 27, 2015 (2015-09-27)May 22, 2016 (2016-05-22)4.7m viewers[47]102[47]2.1
2822September 25, 2016 (2016-09-25)May 21, 2017 (2017-05-21)4.8m viewers[48]92[48]2.1
2921October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)May 20, 2018 (2018-05-20)4.1m viewers[49]122[49]1.7
3023September 30, 2018 (2018-09-30)May 12, 2019 (2019-05-12)3.7m viewers[50]126[50]1.4
3122September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)May 17, 2020 (2020-05-17)3.0m viewers[51]103[51]1.1
3222September 27, 2020 (2020-09-27)May 23, 2021 (2021-05-23)TBATBATBA
3322[52]September 26, 2021 (2021-09-26)[53]TBATBATBATBA

Notes[]

  1. Until the 1996-97 television season, ratings were calculated over 30 weeks from September to mid-April. Episodes that aired after mid-April were not part of the overall average and ranking.[54]
  2. Season one had approximately 13.4 million viewing households.[15] Season two dropped 9%,[55] resulting in an average of approximately 12.2 million viewing households.
  3. Season three had an average rating of 13.0 points.[23] For the 1991-92 season, each point represented 921,000 viewing households,[56] resulting in a total average of approximately 12.0 million viewing households.
  4. Season four had approximately 12.1 million viewing households.[24] Season five dropped 13%,[57] resulting in an average of approximately 10.5 million viewing households.

Episodes[]

Shorts (1987-89)[]

Main article: The Simpsons shorts

Seasons 1–20 (1989–2009)[]

Main article: List of The Simpsons episodes (seasons 1–20)

Season 21–present (2009–present)[]

Main article: List of The Simpsons episodes (season 21–present)

Films[]

TitleDirected byScreenplay byRelease date
(U.S.)
The Simpsons MovieDavid SilvermanJames L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder and Jon VittiJuly 27, 2007 (2007-07-27)
The Longest DaycareDavid SilvermanJames L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, David Mirkin, Joel H. Cohen and Michael PriceJuly 13, 2012 (2012-07-13)
Playdate with DestinyDavid SilvermanAl Jean, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Michael Price,
Matt Selman and David Silverman		March 6, 2020 (2020-03-06)
The Force Awakens from Its NapDavid SilvermanAl Jean, Joel H. Cohen and Michael PriceMay 4, 2021 (2021-05-04)
The Good, the Bart, and the Loki[58]David Silverman[59]Elisabeth Kiernan Averick, Jessica Conrad, John Frick, Al Jean and Jeff WestbrookJuly 7, 2021 (2021-07-07)
Untitled short[60]TBADecember 12, 2021 (2021-12-12)

Special[]

TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		Ratings/
Share
"The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!"Morgan SpurlockJeremy Chilnick & Morgan SpurlockJanuary 10, 2010 (2010-01-10)LABF2113.0[62]

The film examines the "cultural phenomenon" of The Simpsons and includes interviews with both the cast and some fans of the show.[61]

Note: The special aired immediately following "Once Upon a Time in Springfield", was assigned production number LABF21 and technically counts as a component of the 20th production season (and of the 21st broadcast season). It does not, however, count towards the series' official episode count.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b The Simpsons: America's First Family (television documentary). BBC. 2000. Later released on the 2001 DVD The Simpsons – The Complete First Season by 20th Century Fox.
  2. ^ Groening, Matt (February 14, 2003). "Fresh Air". NPR (Interview). Interviewed by Bianculli, David. Philadelphia: WHYY. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  3. ^ Gerard, Jeremy (February 21, 1990). "Bad Language, Hurt Feelings and Success". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  4. ^ Owen, Rob (January 21, 2003). "TV Notes: 'Simpsons' breaks record with contract renewal Archived January 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  5. ^ Keveney, Bill (September 28, 2008). "'The Simpsons' Hits a Landmark". ABC. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  6. ^ "The Simpsons – Synopsis". Fox Flash. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  7. ^ "The Simpsons Movie". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  8. ^ "Fox to End 'The Simpsons' Seasonal DVD Production". The Hollywood Reporter. April 9, 2015. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "The Simpsons to bring back DVDs". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  10. ^ "The Simpsons Will Finally Release Season 19 on DVD, Helping Out Purist Collectors". Variety. July 20, 2019. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 3, 2021). "'The Simpsons' Renewed For Seasons 33 & 34 By Fox". Deadline. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Snierson, Dan (January 30, 2012). "WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to guest on 'The Simpsons' Archived July 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  13. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 22, 2020). "Fox Sets Fall Premiere Dates For The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, Bless The Harts". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "Al Jean's Twitter - Season 33 scheduled premiere date". Twitter. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Nielsen's top 50 shows". USA Today. April 18, 1990. p. 3D.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Cerone, Daniel (September 5, 1991). "'Simpsons' steals away Cosby viewers". Los Angeles Times. p. 4.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Reiss, Mike (2002). Commentary for "Bart Gets an 'F'", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  18. ^ Groening, Matt (2002). Commentary for "Bart Gets an 'F'", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  19. ^ Jean, Al (2003). Commentary for "Homer at the Bat", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  20. ^ Duffy, Mike (September 3, 1994). "Fifth Season Finds 'The Simpsons' Still Fresh, Funny". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C–8.
  21. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (Ninth ed.). Ballantine Books. pp. 1692–1695. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  22. ^ "Nielsen ratings". The Tampa Tribune. April 17, 1991. p. 4.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Gable, Donna (April 15, 1992). "CBS' historic jump". USA Today. p. 3D.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b "Year-end ratings". Deseret News. April 22, 1993. p. C6.
  25. ^ "Nielsen ratings". The Tampa Tribune. Associated Press. April 21, 1994. p. 4.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Pierce, Scott D. (April 19, 1995). "They're not laughing at CBS after drop from 1st to worst". Deseret News. p. C6.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b "NBC lands 6 series in season's top 10". Daily Breeze. May 26, 1996. p. D3.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b Moses, Robert; Rowen, Beth (1997). The 1998 A & E Entertainment Almanac. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 496–515. ISBN 9780395882771.
  29. ^ "Final Ratings for '97–'98 TV Season". San Francisco Chronicle. May 25, 1998. p. E4.
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b "Nielsen rankings for 1998–99". San Francisco Chronicle. May 28, 1999. p. C5.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b "Nielsen rankings for 1999–2000". San Francisco Chronicle. May 26, 2000. p. C17.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Bitter End". Entertainment Weekly. June 1, 2001. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  34. ^ Jump up to: a b Sepinwall, Alan; Seitz, Matt Zoller (May 29, 2003). "Nielsen numbers". The Star-Ledger. p. 31.
  35. ^ Jump up to: a b "Season to date program ratings". ABC Medianet. June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  36. ^ Jump up to: a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. June 1, 2005. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  37. ^ Jump up to: a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. May 31, 2006. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  38. ^ Jump up to: a b "Season program ratings". The Hollywood Reporter. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  39. ^ Jump up to: a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. May 28, 2008. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  40. ^ Jump up to: a b "Season program ratings". ABC Medianet. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 27, 2010). "Full Series Rankings For The 2009–10 Broadcast Season". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 27, 2011). "Full 2010–11 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  43. ^ Jump up to: a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 24, 2012). "Full 2011–2012 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b Dominic Patten (May 23, 2013). "Full 2012–2013 TV Season Series Rankings". deadline. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  45. ^ Jump up to: a b "Primetime TV Series 2013 Ratings & Rankings – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. May 22, 2014. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  46. ^ Jump up to: a b "Full 2014–15 Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. May 22, 2015. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  47. ^ Jump up to: a b "Full 2015–16 Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. May 26, 2016. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  48. ^ Jump up to: a b "Final 2016–17 TV Rankings: 'Sunday Night Football' Winning Streak Continues". Deadline Hollywood. May 26, 2017. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  49. ^ Jump up to: a b "2017–18 TV Series Ratings Rankings: NFL Football, 'Big Bang' Top Charts". Deadline Hollywood. May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  50. ^ Jump up to: a b de Moraes, Lisa (May 21, 2019). "2018–19 TV Season Ratings: CBS Wraps 11th Season At No. 1 In Total Viewers, NBC Tops Demo; 'Big Bang Theory' Most Watched Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  51. ^ Jump up to: a b "TV Ratings: 7-Day Season Averages for Every 2019–20 Broadcast Series". The Hollywood Reporter. June 4, 2020. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  52. ^ "Al Jean's Twitter - Season 33 and 34 episode count". Twitter. May 8, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  53. ^ "Al Jean's Twitter - Season 33 scheduled premiere date". Twitter. June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  54. ^ Storm, Jonathan (May 31, 1997). "The big three networks took a big ratings hit this season". The Charleston Gazette. p. P6B.
  55. ^ "Network series take beatings in ratings". Tulsa World. April 23, 1991. p. 2C.
  56. ^ Williams, Scott (April 17, 1992). "CBS toasts its win of season ratings". St. Petersburg Times. p. 17.
  57. ^ Jicha, Tom (April 20, 1994). "Home Improvement improves to no. 1 spot". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. p. 1E.
  58. ^ Disney+ (June 30, 2021). "Mischief arrives in Springfield—well, more mischief, anyway. Start streaming the short, @TheSimpsons: The Good, the Bart, and the #Loki July 7 on #DisneyPlus. #SummerOfDisneyPlus". Instagram. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  59. ^ @tubatron (June 30, 2021). "And now I can this as well - another fun project to direct. I haven't been idle . . . twitter.com/AlJean/status/…" (Tweet). Retrieved June 30, 2021 – via Twitter.
  60. ^ Disney+ (September 21, 2021). "Your #DisneyPlusDay lineup has arrived (with more to come)