‘The Simpsons’ Renewed For Two More Seasons, Heads For Record Books
By Russ Fischer/May 5, 2015 5:00 am EST
The all-time record for a scripted prime-time TV series is 635 episodes, held by Gunsmoke, which ran from 1955 to 1975. The Simpsons has already run far longer than Gunsmoke did, as the show is currently in its 26th season. Now, with The Simpsons renewed for seasons 27 and 28, the finale of that 28th season will see the series just shy of Gunsmoke’s all-time record. Which means we might as well bet on a 29th season, too.
The Simpsons is in an unusual position in that the current episodes seem more like reminders for prior seasons and merchandise than the other way around. There’s no question that the show remains a cultural force — the streaming debut of the entire series caused a sensation, if not entirely for the right reasons, and the characters are going strong in video games and merchandise. At this point, The Simpsons can do just about whatever it wants until it crosses that 636-episode line.
Then maybe it can go after daytime records. The soap opera Days of Our Lives, which began in 1965 and still runs, has aired over twelve thousand episodes.
