The Simpsons (1989)
The Simpsons is a 1989 animation series created by Matt Groening and John Swartzwelder. It stars Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner and Nancy Cartwright.
Springfield could be any American town, which is the point. Homer works at the nuclear plant, Marge holds the family together, and Bart, Lisa, and baby Maggie fill out a household that has spent decades roasting politics, religion, television, and middle-class life. Matt Groening's yellow-skinned family began as crude shorts and grew into the longest-running scripted series on American television. The satire stays sharp, the guest stars number in the hundreds, and the writing treats cartoon logic as license to say what live action cannot. Warm at its center, merciless at its edges.
Quick answers
What is The Simpsons about?
Springfield could be any American town, which is the point. Homer works at the nuclear plant, Marge holds the family together, and Bart, Lisa, and baby Maggie fill out a household that has spent decades roasting politics, religion, television, and middle-class life. Matt Groening's yellow-skinned family began as crude shorts and grew into the longest-running scripted series on American television. The satire stays sharp, the guest stars number in the hundreds, and the writing treats cartoon logic as license to say what live action cannot. Warm at its center, merciless at its edges.
When was The Simpsons released?
The Simpsons was released on 17 December 1989.
How many episodes does The Simpsons have?
The Simpsons has 802 episodes across 38 seasons.
Who made The Simpsons?
The Simpsons was created by Matt Groening, John Swartzwelder and John Frink.
Where can I watch The Simpsons?
The Simpsons is available on DirecTV On Demand, Disney+, FOX One Amazon Channel, Hulu, YouTube TV and fuboTV.
Where to watch The Simpsons
Stream: DirecTV On Demand, Disney+, FOX One Amazon Channel, Hulu, YouTube TV, fuboTV
Watch free: FX, Spectrum On Demand
Buy: Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango at Home
Official site
Cast
- Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty the Clown / Groundskeeper Willie / Mayor Quimby (voice)
- Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier / Jacqueline Bouvier (voice)
- Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson / Maggie Simpson / Nelson Muntz / Ralph Wiggum (voice)
- Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson / Maggie Simpson (voice)
- Hank Azaria as Moe Szyslak / Chief Wiggum / Apu / Comic Book Guy / Carl Carlson / Superintendent Chalmers (voice)
- Harry Shearer as Ned Flanders / Mr. Burns / Smithers / Principal Skinner / Lenny Leonard (voice)
- Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten (voice)
- Tress MacNeille as Agnes Skinner (voice)
- Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel (voice)
- Maggie Roswell as Maude Flanders (voice)
- Chris Edgerly as (voice)
- Karl Wiedergott as Additional Voices (voice)
Similar series
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A few thoughts on The Simpsons
For the same satirical bite aimed at American excess, Grand Theft Auto V turns Springfield's mockery into an open-world sandbox of talk radio and strip-mall greed. Weird Al Yankovic's Straight Outta Lynwood shares the show's love of parody and pop-culture riffing. The Simpsons: Hit & Run remains the best game the family ever headlined.
Prime-time animated sitcoms that satirize the American family
The Simpsons built the modern animated sitcom around one loud, dysfunctional family standing in for everyone's. King of the Hill, The Cleveland Show, Bless the Harts and Grimsburg all work that same territory, an animated town full of familiar American types, using cartoon exaggeration to say things a live-action sitcom rarely could.
Old-school sitcoms about the picture-perfect household, played straight
Springfield's humor depends on the audience already knowing what a normal TV family is supposed to look like. Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best invented that template in the 1950s, That '70s Show updates it a generation later, and Keeping Up Appearances plays the same respectability for very British laughs, all shows The Simpsons has spent decades gently roasting.
Manga and comics that turn everyday family chaos into slapstick
The Simpsons treats one household's daily chaos as inexhaustible comic material, and these comics run the same play. Crayon Shin-chan and Dr. Slump find their gags in an ordinary family pushed past reason, Gintama turns everyday side characters into running absurdist bits, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch wraps a normal household sitcom around one impossible complication.
Cartoons built on classic gag-a-minute chaos
Before Springfield found its own rhythm, The Simpsons grew out of the same rapid-fire cartoon tradition as Looney Tunes. Looney Tunes Cartoons, The Looney Tunes Show, Tiny Toon Adventures and The Cuphead Show! all lean on that same lineage: sharp character designs, throwaway sight gags, and a pace built for a laugh every few seconds.