\u201cWe\u2019ve done 800 episodes, and I\u2019m really glad we didn\u2019t do a big overarching story,\u201d said Al Jean, executive producer and former showrunner. \u201cYou always return to square one at the end of the show. And there\u2019s no question that was a big influence on the longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Matt Selman, the current showrunner, the Simpsons\u2019 refusal to age is a liberation that simultaneously raises questions about the weight of their long history: \u201cDo these characters have the emotional memory of the 800 things that have happened to them? … I don\u2019t really know the answer to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, show creator Matt Groening views reaching nearly four decades\u2019 worth of production<\/a> as a triumph tinged with perfectionism.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve spent 38 years now trying to get them to draw the characters correctly,\u201d Groening said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to figure out how to shift perspective and do it more cinematically and we\u2019re always trying to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n Episode 800, \u201cIrrational Treasure,\u201d airs Sunday on Fox.<\/p>\n The voices behind Springfield<\/p>\n Nancy Cartwright arrived at her 1987 audition expecting to read for Lisa Simpson. She had other ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cHi Matt. Nice to meet you. I was out there and I noticed that there\u2019s Lisa, that\u2019s fine, 8-year-old middle child, but then there\u2019s this Bart,\u201d Cartwright recalled saying. \u201cI\u2019d kind of like to do him.\u201d<\/p>\n Groening agreed to the \u201cswitcheroo\u201d immediately. \u201cShe completely channeled him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nancy Cartwright arrives at a celebration for \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d 800th episode, \u201cIrrational Treasure,\u201d on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n Nancy Cartwright arrives at a celebration for \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d 800th episode, \u201cIrrational Treasure,\u201d on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Nearly four decades later, Cartwright notes that \u201cthere are still people that yet don\u2019t know that it\u2019s a woman that does the voice.\u201d<\/p>\n The role has become inseparable from her identity. \u201cIt\u2019s become such a part of my lifestyle. I\u2019m used to doing it all the time, and I\u2019m not looking forward to the day when we\u2019re done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Lisa Simpson\u2019s defining characteristic<\/a> emerged just as spontaneously. Animator David Silverman, who drew the original outline for the show\u2019s iconic opening sequence, recalled a production meeting where the middle Simpson child lacked a signature moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have a gag for Lisa, we have a gag for everybody else. What should we do for Lisa?\u201d Silverman reflects. \u201cAnd I suggested, \u2018Well, maybe she\u2019s in the band and maybe she plays a tuba.\u2019 And so Jim (James L. Brooks) said, \u2018Well, I don\u2019t know about the tuba but what if she played the baritone saxophone? In fact, what if she played it really well? That could be her character, she could be the genius kid of the family that nobody appreciates.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n From controversy to institution<\/p>\n The show\u2019s path to becoming a global institution<\/a> was paved with early outrage. Groening remembers when Bart Simpson was deemed a threat to American classrooms \u2014 he relished every moment of it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the best move ever when the culture decided \u2018The Simpsons\u2019 was too outrageous,\u201d Groening said. \u201cAnd if you wear a Bart Simpson \u2018Underachiever\u2019 T-shirt to school, you got kicked out. That was the best thing for us.\u201d<\/p>\n When Fox executives asked whether the show targeted kids or adults, Groening said the creative team made an immediate choice that defined everything that followed. \u201cWe said it\u2019s for adults,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAnd that was the best instantaneous decision that we made because it meant that we could do a wide range of jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James L. Brooks arrives at a celebration for \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d 800th episode, \u201cIrrational Treasure,\u201d on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n James L. Brooks arrives at a celebration for \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d 800th episode, \u201cIrrational Treasure,\u201d on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n As the internet arrived, so did a new breed of critic. Groening admits the \u201cComic Book Guy\u201d character \u2014 Springfield\u2019s perpetually dissatisfied nerd \u2014 was created as a direct response to early online fans declaring every new episode the \u201cworst episode ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like analysis and I like criticism,\u201d Groening said. \u201cBut \u2018That\u2019s not funny\u2019 and \u2018That\u2019s boring,\u2019 that annoys me. Those are to me the laziest reactions you can get.\u201d<\/p>\n His prediction for the show\u2019s future carries characteristic sarcasm. \u201cWell, I can tell you this because we are time travelers,\u201d Groening joked. \u201cThe Simpsons will be on in a thousand years. Still on. Unfortunately, fans are going to say the show\u2019s been going downhill for the last 500 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Predictions, presidents and pop stars<\/p>\n The show\u2019s supposed ability to predict the future \u2014 including a 2000 episode where Lisa inherits the presidency from \u201cPresident Trump\u201d \u2014 has become internet legend.<\/p>\n Jean offered a simple explanation: \u201cWell, the predictions are accidental. We\u2019re not from the future.\u201d<\/p>\n But modern technology has turned prophecy into fraud, according to Selman.<\/p>\n \u201cThe predictions are all fake now,\u201d Selman said. \u201cThey\u2019re just done by AI. And people all go, \u2018Oh my God, how do they do it?\u2019 I throw up my hands in despair for the gullibility of mankind.\u201d<\/p>\n Guest stars have become a hallmark of the series, from Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga to the Rolling Stones. Jackson\u2019s 1991 appearance in \u201cStark Raving Dad\u201d<\/a> came after he cold-called Groening.<\/p>\n \u201cI was working late in my office at 10 p.m. My phone rang \u2026 \u2018Hi, this is Michael Jackson.\u2019 And I hung up because, you know, it was obviously a prank. And he called back, \u2018No, really, don\u2019t hang up,\u2019\u201d Groening recalled.<\/p>\n While the show secured the King of Pop in Season 3, one prestigious group has consistently declined invitations to Springfield. \u201cThe ones that never said yes were U.S. presidents and I don\u2019t think we\u2019re ever going to do that,\u201d Jean said.<\/p>\n![\"Nancy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771029432_361_.jpeg\")
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