The Simpsons | |
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The Simpson family. From left to right: Bart, Marge, Santa's Little Helper (dog), Maggie, Homer, Lisa, and Snowball II (cat). |
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Genre | Animated sitcom |
Created by | Matt Groening |
Developed by |
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Voices of | |
Theme music composer | Danny Elfman |
Opening theme | "The Simpsons Theme" |
Composer(s) |
Richard Gibbs (1989–90) Arthur B. Rubinstein (1990) Alf Clausen (1990–present) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 28 |
No. of episodes | 611 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Running time | 21–24 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Gracie Films (1989–present) 20th Century Fox Television Klasky Csupo (1989–92) Film Roman (1992–2016) Fox Television Animation (2016–present) The Curiosity Company (2015–present, uncredited) |
Distributor | 20th Television |
Release | |
Original network | Fox |
Picture format |
480i/576i (4:3 SDTV) (1989–2009) 720p (16:9 HDTV) (2009–present) |
Audio format |
Stereo (1989–91) Dolby Surround 2.0 (1991–2009) 5.1 surround sound (2009–present) |
Original release | December 17, 1989 | – present
Chronology | |
Preceded by | The Simpsons shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show |
External links | |
Official website |
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of working-class life 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 the human condition.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation 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. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became 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, 611 episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast. Its 28th season began on September 25, 2016. It is the longest-running American sitcom and 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 renewed for seasons 27 (2015–16) and 28 (2016–17), consisting of 22 episodes each. On November 4, 2016, the series was renewed for seasons 29 (2017–18) and 30 (2018–19), consisting of 22 episodes each.