The Simpsons Might End Some Day

To say that “The Simpsons” is legendary within the realm of television would be an insulting understatement. Quietly launched from “The Tracey Ullman Show,” the animated sitcom has been a staple of pop culture ever since it debuted on Fox in 1988. Now, as the show approaches its 800th episode, it’s easy to wonder, will it ever end? According to showrunner Matt Selman, it very well might, but not in the way most shows do.

Speaking with The Wrap ahead of the landmark 800th episode of “The Simpsons” this upcoming Sunday, Selman addressed the possibility of the show ending. Now in the midst of its 37th season, it’s a reasonable thing to ponder.

“The show isn’t supposed to change. The characters reset every week. It’s like Groundhog Day but they don’t know it — and they don’t die that much. 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.'”

Some of the best shows in television history also feature the best series finales of all time. However, plenty of great shows haven’t managed to stick the landing. Even worse, many shows end simply because they’re canceled, and they don’t get to go out on their own terms. What’s odd about what Selman’s proposing is that the show will just be the show as it is until it simply ends. The last episode will just be an episode focused on Springfield’s most famous family.

Even if “The Simpsons” writers know they can’t compete with classic-era episodes, they’re still out here trying to make good television. Not writing to a specific finale is nothing if not an interesting choice.

The season 36 premiere of “The Simpsons” was a fake finale inspired by a fan question, specifically “How will it end?” The writers explored the idea within the episode entitled “Bart’s Birthday.” Matt Selman addressed that episode in the same interview, explaining that it was their way of riffing on a series finale while sort of affirming that they won’t ever do a proper finale.

“We did an episode about a year-and-a-half ago that was like a parody of the series finale. 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. We did a series finale in the middle of the show that made fun of all the ideas of wrapping everything up or ending.”

“We just want to make every separate episode its own amazing little mini movie that stands on its own and is original from the other 799,” Selman added. “It’s a hard challenge, but it’s a really fun challenge, that quest for originality; and to really be worthy of the mantle of making a TV show where we can kind of do whatever we want, and people still seem to like it. So we’re just the luckiest writer Ding-Dongs in the world. I just don’t want to screw it up.”

Meanwhile, a sequel to “The Simpsons Movie” was announced last year, which will bring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie back to the big screen. As for the show? It’s renewed through season 40 at least, with no end in sight. Based on these recent comments, even if an ending does come for the show, we may not see it coming.

You can stream “The Simpsons” on Disney+.