The longest-running animated television show on the American network, The Simpsons, is a series that airs on the Fox Network. Matt Groening created the series, and the show’s central storyline depicts the American lifestyle satirically.
The Simpsons debuted in December 1989 and have ever since parodied American society, culture, and even television.
The series recently finished airing its thirty-third season and will air its thirty-fourth season soon. The Simpsons have had about 728 episodes.
Voice Cast
The voice cast of Simpsons consists of six primary voice artists, who, along with lending their voices to the primary characters, also voice others on the show.
The primary voice cast includes Dan Castellaneta, who voices Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, and some other characters. Julie Kavner voices Marge Simpson, Selma, and Patty.
Nancy Cartwright majorly voices the children on the show, namely Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, and Ralph Wiggum, among others. Yeardley Smith gives the voice for Lisa Simpson.
Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria voice the male population of the town of Springfield.
Premise
The Simpsons is a satirical take on the American lifestyle, with the central character being the Simpsons family. The series combines topics such as American culture, television, human lives, and societal conditions to devise each plot.
The primary characters from the family reside in the fictional town of Springfield. The Simpsons family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Maggie, and Lisa Simpson.
Homer Simpson, the head of the Simpson family, works as a safety inspector at the local nuclear power plant. He is married to Marge, who is the quintessential American housewife.
Together, the couple has three children- a troublemaker and ten-year-old Bart, an eight-year-old activist Lisa, and a baby named Maggie. The family also includes Homer’s dad, Grampa Simpson, who lives in a retirement home, and the family’s pets- a dog named Santa’s Little Helper and a cat named Snowball V.
Apart from the Simpson family members, the series also features some quirky supporting characters in the form of school principal Seymour Skinner, Homer’s co-workers and friends Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson, school teachers Elizabeth Hoover and Edna Krabappel, and neighbor Ned Flanders.
Other supporting characters on the show include Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Barney Gumble, Patty and Selma, Mayor Quimby, Krusty the Clown, and news reporter Kent Brockman.
Reception
The Simpsons met with critical acclaim and early success during its initial seasons in the 1990s. The initial seasons of the series are the ‘Golden Age of The Simpsons’ according to the critics.
However, as the late 1990s approached, the critics felt the show’s quality started declining because of its boring storyline and mundane jokes.
Despite all these minor hurdles, ‘The Simpsons’ is the highest-ranking and longest-running animated series.
Accolades
Given that The Simpsons has been the longest-running animated series on the American network, it has managed to bag many awards since its inception. Some of the awards won by the series include 35 Primetime Emmys, 34 Annie Awards, and 2 Peabody Awards.
The Simpsons Family received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2000.
Time Magazine named The Simpsons the best television series of the 20th century.
A feature-length film titled The Simpsons Movie was released worldwide in July 2007. The movie received commercial success. Apart from the movie, there are numerous books, video games, and comic book series based on the Simpsons family.
The Simpsons have influenced several animated, adult-oriented sitcoms on American television.