The Simpsons showrunner says series will ‘never have a finale’

Unusual way long-running animated series would end has been revealed

The Simpsons fans have long been predicting the show will end soon, but the animated series’s showrunner has now shed light on what that would look like.

The series, which premiered in 1989, is on its 37th season and 800th episode – and it’s being speculated that the forthcoming film, a sequel to 2007’s The Simpsons Movie, could serve as its swansong.

Should the show come to an end, though, Matt Selman is adamant it won’t be your standard season finale and would merely seem like just another episode.

“We did an episode about a year-and-a-half ago that was like a parody of the series finale,” he said.

“We jammed every possible series finale concept into one show, so that was sort of my way of saying we’re never going to do a series finale.”

He told TheWrap the episode “made fun of all the ideas of wrapping everything up or ending”, adding: “If the show ever did end, there’s no finale; it would just be a regular episode that has the family in it. Probably a little Easter egg here and there, but no ‘I’m going to miss this place.’”

Selman said The Simpsons “isn’t supposed to change” each week, stating: “The characters reset every week. It’s like Groundhog Day, but they don’t know it – and they don’t die that much.”

Despite Selman’s comments, the show has killed off several characters in recent years.

In November, The Simpsons killed off Alice Glick, the organist in Springfield’s church, who died during a service being led by Reverend Lovejoy.

Alice Glick was introduced in season two episode 21, “Three Men and a Comic Book”, which aired in 1991, and was voiced by Cloris Leachman. Tress MacNeille took over the role following Leachman’s death in 2021.

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‘The Simpsons’ finale would end just like any other episode, says showrunner (Fox)

Executive producer Tim Long confirmed Glick’s death, telling People: “In a sense, Alice the organist will live forever, through the beautiful music she made. But in another, more important sense, yep, she's dead as a doornail.”

The year before, The Simpsons killed off Larry the Barfly, a beloved character who had featured on the show since season 10.

In response to an outcry from viewers, Long said: “I’m sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry’s death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn’t take anyone for granted.”