The Simpsons

Long ago, in the 1980s, there was a new TV network called Fox. And on Fox were some awful comedies like Women in Prison, and some out-of-the-ordinary variety shows, including one from British comedienne Tracey Ullman.

On The Tracey Ullman Show, which ran from 1987-1990, the Simpson family first appeared on television. The Simpsons were crudely drawn for animated shorts on Ullman’s comedy-variety show. Eventually, the drawings got cleaned up as the popularity of The Simpsons grew. In 1990, Fox-TV put the half-hour Simpsons TV series on-the-air, and it was a huge hit.

In 1990, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing Bart Simpson t-shirts with catchphrases like “Don’t have a cow man” on them.

Today, almost three decades later, Fox is still running new episodes of The Simpsons, and it has been renewed for next season, meaning we’ll be enjoying Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and plenty of zany characters for many more episodes.

It’s not every day that a TV show lasts as long as The Simpsons has. It’s a testament to great comedic writers keeping it fresh and current year after year.

Did you know The Simpsons have their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Universal Studios created a virtual coaster ride based on the animated family. And even the U.S. postal service honored the show with five postal stamps personally designed by series creator Matt Groening.

Having won 28 Emmy Awards, The Simpsons is the longest-running scripted show in TV history. Surprisingly, it shows no signs of slowing down.