The Simpsons actor on future of show under Disney: ‘They would cancel it before they would change it’

The long-running animated series is a property of 20th Century Fox, which has now come under the ownership of Disney following a $71.3 bn purchase of its assets.

Yeardley Smith, who voices Lisa Simpson, has voiced her opinion on the future of The Simpsons.

The long-running animated series is a property of 20th Century Fox, which has now come under the ownership of Disney following a $71.3 bn purchase of its assets.

“When you’re dealing with something that is still so culturally relevant, and sort of such a pillar of our culture, if you’re going to mess with that, that’s some pretty risky territory,” Smith told The Hollywood Reporter, when questioned what might change after the merger. “So my feeling is — and I could be completely wrong — is that they would cancel it before they would change It [creatively].”

The series signed a two-year renewal in February, keeping it on Fox through 2021, but there has been speculation that it might eventually move to ABC, which is owned by Disney. There’s also the question of what will happen to the show’s archive of over 700 past episodes, with the potential for them to find a home at the new streaming service Disney+.

“When you are building a silo, you need content,” the 54-year-old actor, who has voiced Lisa for the past 30 years, said. “Even though we have 700 episodes, when we have a marathon and you can devour that in 14 days, dude, you better keep making those episodes. For us, I think it’s very, very good as long as the writers and executive producers still want to keep making the show. I’m optimistic.”

Smith recently attended the GLAAD Media Awards, where she was recognised for her leadership as an LGBT+ ally.