The following article contains a plethora of yellow-skinned humans, an unhealthy dose of donuts, and at least one mention of a cartoon character’s catchphrase, and lastly, more donuts, of course!
The latest and most breaking Hollywood news that has surely made Homer Simpson let out a jubilant ‘Woohoo!’, the venerable animated series The Simpsons is not only coming back to the big screen with a brand new movie but has also been renewed for a whopping four more seasons. The mega-deal between Disney (via 20th Century Studios) and Fox, announced in April 2025, guarantees that the citizens of Springfield will continue their antics through season 40, which is scheduled to air during the 2028-2029 television season.
The move cements the legacy of what is already the longest-running American animated series, sitcom, and scripted primetime television series in history. But in a time of revivals and reboots, this isn’t just a simple extension of a long-running gag. It’s a statement, a testament to a pop culture phenomenon that refuses to be put to bed, much like Homer on his couch. And honestly, who can blame them for giving in to the temptation? With the announcement came the news that a sequel to The Simpsons Movie, released way back in 2007, is also on the way, scheduled for a summer 2027 theatrical release. Imagine that, the year is 2007, wow, it is hard to believe that the first The Simpsons movie came out roughly twenty years ago already at this point. I, in fact, was lucky enough to have gotten to watch it in cinemas during its premiere in our side of the world.
In fact, the first movie turned out to be a global box office smash hit that raked in over $536 million, and had moviegoers under a giant glass dome, quite literally and figuratively. The new feature, which has taken the place of an untitled Marvel film on the Disney release calendar, is keeping its plot details tightly under wraps. But the promotional material, which features a rainbow-sprinkled doughnut, which is a classic move on their part, in the shape of the numeral ‘2,’ teases that ‘Homer’s coming back for seconds.’ It’s so simple, straight to the point, and a brilliant promotional tease that touches base on anyone familiar with The Simpsons, all shaped into that rainbow-sprinkled donut. Hehe.
Now, the analyst in me-who is not shallow, not narrow-minded, and whose frame of thinking is never one that can be pigeon-holed-wonders aloud: Yep, I do reuse my phrases and lines as long as they fit what I am writing about. Leads me to ask this: Is this a good thing? Can ‘The Simpsons Magic’ be recaptured? For a decades-old running show that has had its share of creative valleys alongside its celebrated peaks, will this new mega deal simply prolong the inevitable, or is it a sign of a creative renaissance? Personally, I am hoping for the latter outcome, because The Simpsons has been a staple on television for nearly thirty years, and to lose this show either by the all too dreaded cancellation or not getting renewed for additional seasons after their current upcoming mega deal ends would be a significant loss and something irreplaceable by any other type of programming. I can still remember as a kid when The Simpsons were shown on two channels here (one was a local one, and the other was an Asian based channel), and they both showed The Simpsons at different time slots and days. Even back then, in the early to mid-90s, The Simpsons was a big deal, so it is not surprising that The Simpsons has supporters from some of the biggest worldwide streaming services and movie studios because there is a likelihood, in fact, a huge probability, that they were themselves fans of this groundbreaking animated series growing up.
On the other hand, some might argue that the best years of The Simpsons are long gone, relegated to a ‘golden era’ back in the 1990s. For all of us who grew up with The Simpsons and watched the show regularly for the first few seasons, like I did, with the first five, which were some of its all-time best, then all of you can relate as to why The Simpsons was a vital piece of our television viewing during our youth and well into our adulthood. But let us not forget that the show has proven time and again its ability to remain relevant and even surprise us, from timely social commentary to clever meta-humor.
I mean, have you guys not seen all the eerily accurate predictions the show has made throughout the many years that turned out to be true? There are compilations on YouTube that have gotten everyone talking about the uncanny ability of The Simpsons to predict with precision, with sharpness, and with, more importantly, timing, global events, key figures, and anything to do with the direction of a country, whether that be in politics and Hollywood, with ‘Nostradamus-esque Potential.’ Haha. In all seriousness, The Simpsons episodes that have predicted future events perfectly are surreal. It’s proof of how in-tune, in the know, and aware its writers are. They know their stuff to a T!
Which leads me to say this next: I have seen and lived through numerous groundbreaking animated series that have come on the air, made an immediate cultural impact with their viewers, and become global phenomena, and let me say, nothing compares to The Simpsons when it came to their popularity. For example, the types of merchandise they had were everything from shirts, dinnerware, portraits, posters, snacks, video tapes, action figures, magazines, stuffed toys, albums, and so on. You name it, The Simpsons had merchandise on it. They were trademarked like crazy back in those years by numerous companies to capitalize on their incredible popularity that was skyrocketing, and even now, there is still a good number of The Simpsons merchandise available for everyone.
From a personal perspective, I can still remember having a giant Bart Simpson stuffed toy in which you could pull the string at the back, and Bart Simpson would say any of his classic catchphrases like ‘Eat My Shorts!’ among others. Haha. I really got a kick out of that giant Bart Simpson stuffed toy growing up and using it to talk to my friends and sometimes relatives and instead of giving them a direct answer, I would first pull the string and wait for it to say something, then, I would, of course, answer them afterwards, but the point is, it tapped into our childhood innocence, sense of humor and most of all, imagination.
That is why I am one of the millions of fans of The Simpsons from all over the world that is hoping current showrunner of The Simpsons, Matt Selman, will immensely help the show find a new and younger audience in Disney+, then, in what would be a smart strategic move to also reconnect with older demographics, proving that these yellow cartoon characters have the kind of staying power that is generational and that is far from being outdated or a thing of the past. Why so? Because if The Simpsons were irrelevant or stuck in the past, then why would they have a mega-deal in place with Disney+ and a second movie that is going to be made and released sometime in 2027? It’s all self-explanatory and reveals how much faith the people with power in the entertainment industry from their side of the world still have in The Simpsons, as we all do who got to watch it growing up. Regardless of your opinion on the matter, one thing is certain and for damn sure: The Simpsons (Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie) are here to stay for a while longer, yehey, which is a huge relief. The mega-deal ensures hundreds more episodes are on the way, with a mix of releases on FOX (their original channel) and Disney+ exclusives, all leading up to the historic 800th episode in 2026. So get ready to hear Homer’s signature ‘D’oh!’ for many, many more years.
We all owe a big thanks to Matt Groening for creating The Simpsons and making television a much happier ‘yellow place’ because of their decades-long presence on our screens, and in fact, on any screen now, thanks to streaming services already.
Long live The Simpsons!