Although it may not seem so, The Simpsons Eventually will end, and the sitcom’s showrunner has begrudgingly weighed in what a finale would look like and how it would subvert certain expectations of the genre. Matt Selman’s conditions for ending the show seem pretty simple, but they’re also a brilliant way for the legendary sitcom to end on its own terms. Topping the list of longest-running sitcoms of all time, The Simpsons‘ Final episode could go several waysBut the showrunner has strong opinions on which avenues should be explored and which should be ignored.
The core cast of The Simpsons has remained largely unchanged since the show’s debut in 1989, although a few unfortunate losses and other circumstances have led to some characters being shelved or respectfully killed off. Matt Groening’s flagship show of his animation empire has so many storylines and iconic guest stars that finishing the story in a single episode seems like an impossible task. luckily, Selman doesn’t seem to be concerned about meeting certain expectations.
The Simpsons series finale should really just be a regular episode
Talk to People, Matt Selman has confirmed that he doesn’t want to do anything special When the time comes to write a final installment of The Simpsons. Instead, it just wants to be an unremarkable installment, albeit one that involves every member of the sitcom’s titular family. While this may sound like a fairly underwhelming way to end such an impressive run on television, approaching it any other way would be borderline impossible. with The Simpsons Season 36 now aired, there would be a lot of knowledge to include in a 20-minute run time.
“I just hope it’s just a regular episode with no winky winky stuff. Just a great family story, just like a classic story that’s just funny and involves the whole family and doesn’t feel like it needs to wrap anything up or change anything or tie anything up or be magic or speak to the audience directly.”
The Simpsons Has broken its formula several times over its decades-long run. For example, the Halloween anthology episodes do not impact the main canon of the show, nor do the parody and spoof installments that pop up from time to time. That said, the deviations from the show’s design have returned so often that they have become Simpsons Tropes themselves. therefore, The purest way to end the show would be to do what Selman suggests and just make a “Regular episode“, without pressure to do something that will blow people away.
The Simpsons finale manages to avoid some of the biggest tropes of sitcoms
When a sitcom is lucky enough to end on its own terms rather than being canceled, it’s a certain framework that has emerged throughout the beloved genre’s history. The final episode of a sitcom has largely become something of a box-ticking exercise. Common ways of wrapping up a sitcom have boiled down to just a handful of possibilitiesWhich makes watching them a little less rewarding – even if they can still be unavoidably emotional.
The safe and proven way of writing a sitcom finale script has long saturated the genre – as Selman implies in his comments.
Although Some sitcoms throw this formulaic finale approach asideIt is still generally adhered to. For example, there can often be a big, life-changing event that means the main cast can’t stay together anymore. Included in the important occasions are marriage, the birth of a child, a new job/promotion, or simply just moving further away from the sitcom’s main setting. Occasionally, a character can die – but this is less common. Regardless, the safe and proven way to write a sitcom finale script has long saturated the genre—as Selman implies in his comments.
A “winky winky” finale would never work for The Simpsons
The Simpsons has been around for too long to have a self-aware finale
Selman’s comment about speaking to the audience is particularly striking. Time does not pass in the world of The Simpsons In quite the same way As in live-action sitcoms. Although the calendar year does change in the world of the show, and things like new technology are introduced, none of the characters age. So, the oft-used trope of sitcom characters hitting certain milestones and using them as a stopping point for the story wouldn’t make any sense for The SimpsonsAnd engineering that kind of moment wouldn’t feel very authentic.
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Due to the lack of any notable character progression, none of the residents of Springfield are particularly primed for a life-changing event suitable enough to end the sitcom traditionally. Homer and Marge are still married, and none of the kids are old enough to even leave home—let alone settle down and start their own families. Although some of these have been glimpsed in future timelines, they are largely seen as non-canon. so, The Simpsonss‘ Final episode should just do what it has always done – spend time with the main characters and imply that their lives will never end.
Source: People
The Simpsons is a long-running animated television series created by Matt Groening that satirically follows a working-class family in the misfit town of Springfield. Homer, a bit of a schmuck who works at a nuclear power plant, is the provider for his family, while his wife, Marge, tries to keep sanity and sanity in the house to the best of her ability. Bart is a born troublemaker, and Lisa is his super-intelligent sister who finds herself surrounded by people who can’t understand her. Finally, Maggie is the mysterious baby who acts as a deus ex machina when the series calls for it. The show puts the family in some absurd situations, while constantly tackling socio-political and pop-culture themes set in their world, providing an often sharp critique of the subjects covered in each episode. The series first premiered in 1989 and has been a staple of Fox’s programming schedule ever since!