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. Widely regarded as one of the most influential animated series of all time, The Simpsons has been named by Time as the greatest television series of the 20th century.

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, 808 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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Nancy Campbell Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American film and television actress, comedienne and voice artist. Noted for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, Kearney and Database. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Cartwright moved to Hollywood in 1978 and trained as a voice actress alongside Daws Butler. Her first professional role was voicing Gloria in the animated series Richie Rich, which she followed up with a starring role in the television movie Marian Rose White and her first feature film in Twilight Zone: The Movie in 1983. Cartwright continued to audition for voice-over and live-action roles, and in 1987, she decided to audition for a role in a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family on The Tracey Ullman Show. Cartwright intended to audition for the role of Lisa Simpson, the eldest daughter; however, when she arrived at the audition, she found the role of her brother Bart to be much more interesting. Matt Groening, creator of the shorts, allowed her to audition for Bart, and gave her the job on the spot after hearing her read. For her work as Bart, Cartwright would receive a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992 and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in the Field of Animation in 1995.

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Credit: nick aleck

Hank Azaria became a part of the regular cast of The Simpsons during the second season and voices many characters, including Moe, Chief Wiggum and Apu, Comic Book Guy, Carl, Cletus, Professor Frink and Dr. Nick. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.

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“

Lionel Hutz, attorney at law. I'm filing a class action suit against the director on behalf of everyone who was cut from the play. I also play Mitch.

”

— Lionel Hutz ("A Streetcar Named Marge")

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"Mr. Plow" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons' fourth season, which originally aired on November 19, 1992. In the episode, Homer buys a snow plow and starts a business plowing driveways. It is a huge success, and inspired by Homer's success, Barney Gumble starts a rival company and quickly puts Homer out of business. The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Jim Reardon. In 1993, Dan Castellaneta won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" for this episode. The episode was also submitted in the "Outstanding Comedy Series" category although ultimately it wasn't nominated.

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Did you know...

...that the title of Dan Castellaneta's album of comedy sketches I Am Not Homer is a parody of Leonard Nimoy's first autobiography I Am Not Spock?

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

... that MacHomer, a one-person play blending William Shakespeare's Macbeth with The Simpsons, was conceived by Rick Miller in 1994 while he was playing the minor role of Murderer No. 2 in a production of MacBeth?

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

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

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I was taking animation and illustration and I was just a huge fan of the show and I knew the show was going to be something big. However, I never thought it would last this long, but I wanted to be part of it. I really thought that it was something that could last maybe one or two or years or so and I took a few animation tests but I failed the first group and so I asked them what was right and wrong about it and I followed directions and gave it to them within 48 hours and they hired me.

— Lance Wilder

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