Portal:The Simpsons

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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, in an unspecified location in the United States, it caricatures society, Western culture, television, and the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour primetime show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 809 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie (2007), was released in theaters worldwide to critical and commercial success, with a sequel set to release in 2027. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons was initially a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television; 20th Television's involvement was later moved to 20th Television Animation, a separate unit of Disney Television Studios. On April 2, 2025, the show was renewed for four additional seasons on Fox, with 15 episodes and two Disney+ specials each, bringing the episode total from 790 to 858. (Full article...)

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Hank Albert Azaria (born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, director, comedian and voice artist. He is most famous for his long-running career as one of the main voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons. He performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and numerous other characters. He became better known for starring in the one off drama Tuesdays With Morrie, and through his appearances in films including The Birdcage and Godzilla. He starred in the drama Huff, playing the titular character, to critical acclaim, as well as appearing in the popular stage musical Spamalot. Married to Helen Hunt for a year, he has won four Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

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Credit: Tommy Collier

Maggie Roswell voices several characters on the show, including Helen Lovejoy.

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“

Well, you know how it is with cops. I'll be shot three days before retirement. In the business, we call it retirony.

”

— Chief Wiggum ("Homer vs. Dignity")

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"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" is the first episode of The Simpsons' ninth season, and premiered on September 21, 1997 on Fox. The episode sees the Simpson family traveling to Manhattan to recover the family car, which was taken by Barney and abandoned outside the World Trade Center complex with numerous parking tickets. Upon arrival, the family tour the city, while Homer attempts to find his car. He discovers it outside the World Trade Center, where a parking officer later arrives to remove the clamp, but leaves as Homer is urinating inside one of the towers. In frustration, Homer decides to drive the car with the clamp attached. He successfully removes it later and races to Central Park to find his family and leave the city. Writer Ian Maxtone-Graham was interested in making an episode where the Simpson family travels to New York to retrieve their lost car. Executive producers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein suggested that the car be found in the World Trade Center plaza, as they wanted a location that would be widely known. Great lengths were taken to make a detailed replica of the city of Manhattan. The episode received generally positive reviews, and has since been on accolade lists of Simpsons episodes. The "You're Checkin' In" musical sequence won two awards. Because of the World Trade Center's central role, the episode was initially taken off syndication in many areas following the September 11, 2001 attacks, but has come back into syndication in recent years.

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Did you know...

...that in 1995, Matt Groening got in a major disagreement with James L. Brooks and other Simpsons producers over "A Star Is Burns", and requested his name be taken off the episode?

...that Maggie Simpson has been voiced by several different actors, including Elizabeth Taylor, James Earl Jones and Harry Shearer?

...that before Hank Azaria joined the show, he had previously performed only one voice over, as an animated dog in the Fox pilot Hollywood Dog?

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The following are images from various The Simpsons-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 2Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 3Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 4In 1991, Nancy Cartwright accepted a Kids' Choice Awards while wearing a Bart Simpson costume. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 5A Kwik-E-Mart in Orlando (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 6Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 7
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 8Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 9The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 10Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 11In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 12"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996
Image 13David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.
Image 14Voice actor Phil Hartman was murdered in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 15
David Mirkin
Image 16The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 17In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 18Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 19Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 20The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 21The show was criticized by several conservatives. Among those were President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. (from History of The Simpsons)

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First off there are 50 or so characters. We can really do different episodes every week and not stretch it as thin. And the fact that our characters don't age means we won't have shows coming out later where people will say, "This isn't the 'Happy Days' I fell in love with. Fonzie's teaching high school now." We all work really hard, the actors and the writers, to make it the best show it can be.

— Al Jean

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