The Simpsons will be renewed by Fox for a record-setting amount of seasons alongside new instalments of Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy.
The renewals mean that Fox will keep Springfield’s finest family on the small screen for both a 35th and 36th season. This allows the animated show to extend its standing as the longest-running scripted series in television history.
Meanwhile, both Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers will see another two seasons commissioned apiece. This means that the Griffins of Family Guy will be back for a 22nd and 23rd season, while the burger-slinging Belchers return for seasons 14 and 15.
Michael Thorn, Fox Entertainment’s president of scripted programming said [as per Variety]: “With this trio of renewals, we celebrate excellence in animation on Fox; our wonderful, long-time partnership with 20th Television; and, the brilliant creators and incredible voices behind these forever favourites.”
He added: “Three-plus decades of ‘The Simpsons,’ more than two decades of ‘Family Guy’ and over a decade of ‘Bob’s Burgers’ proves the enduring power of the animation genre on our network and the infinite fan affinity for these outrageously funny comedy classics.”
All three shows currently rank among the Top 10 comedies for the 2022-23 season with this year marking the fourth consecutive season The Simpsons’ leads the list. It will prove to be the fifth consecutive time for Family Guy, and the second for Bob’s Burgers on the list.
The Simpsons isn’t the only animated show to be setting records. Family Guy currently holds the title as Fox’s most-streamed program on record and continues the trend this season, averaging 5.1 million viewers.
Recently it was revealed that The Simpsons’ long-running reputation for predicting history doesn’t hold that much water. Former show-runner and writer Josh Wenstein opened up about the show’s luck in predicting world events in a Q&A on Twitter earlier this month.
The thread sparked a rush of eager fan replies. In particular, one user asked if there was any truth to the conspiracy theories regarding the show predicting 9/11. Weinstein said it was an “unfortunate” case of “coincidence”.
