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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series 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, 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 prime time 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, 768 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, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of 2018. 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 is a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television. (Full article...)

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Matt Groening (born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist and television producer and writer from Portland, Oregon. Groening is best known as the creator of The Simpsons . He is also the creator of the comic Life in Hell and co-creator of Futurama. Life in Hell caught the attention of James L. Brooks. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation for the FOX variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening decided to create something new and came up with a cartoon family, the Simpsons and named the members after his own family, except Bart, which was an anagram of the word brat. The shorts would be spun off into their own series: The Simpsons, which has since aired over 400 episodes in 19 seasons. In 1997, Groening got together with David X. Cohen and developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000. After four years on the air, the show was cancelled by Fox, but Comedy Central commissioned 16 new episodes to be aired in 2008. Groening has won 10 Primetime Emmy Awards, nine for The Simpsons and one for Futurama as well as a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell.

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Credit: Bill Oakley

Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992. Back row, left to right: Mike Mendel, Colin ABV Lewis (partial), Jeff Goldstein, Al Jean (partial), Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Mike Reiss, Ken Tsumara, George Meyer, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti (partial), CJ Gibson and David M. Stern. Front row, left to right: Dee Capelli, Lona Williams and Leslie Richter.

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Character quote

“

Your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing, Homer. I may have to steal it.

”

— Stephen Hawking ("They Saved Lisa's Brain")

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"Homerpalooza" is the twenty-fourth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season and originally aired on May 19, 1996 as part of the season finale. The plot focuses around Homer's depression about aging and no longer being cool, and his quest to become cool again by joining the "Hullabalooza" music festival as a carnival freak. The episode title is a play on the Lollapalooza music festival. It would prove to be the last Simpsons episode written by Brent Forrester and the last episode directed by Wes Archer. Peter Frampton and musical groups The Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill and Sonic Youth guest star as themselves.

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Did you know...

... that from 1995 to 2003, an Arkansas radio station now called KZTD shared its "KBBL" call sign with the fictional radio station on The Simpsons?

...that on May 30, 2003, Homer Simpson was made an honorary citizen of Winnipeg, Canada, in recognition of Matt Groening's father Homer Groening, who is believed to be from the Manitoba capital?

...that when it came time to give Grampa Simpson a first name, the writers named him Abraham which by coincidence was the name of Matt Groening's grandfather?

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

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

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When they said, 'We're going to a half-hour show,' I thought it could be fun, but this is phenomenal. .. I don't want it to end. I love it. It gives me power. Sometimes now I get other voiceover work without auditions.

— Nancy Cartwright

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