7 Shows That Tried To Replace The Simpsons

Despite being on television for decades, no show has quite matched the cultural impact of The Simpsons, though many have tried. With nearly 800 episodes and a feature film, The Simpsons is now the longest-running scripted primetime show in American television history.

Many consider The Simpsons to be the most influential sitcom in television history. The surge in adult animation we saw starting in the 1990s wouldn’t have been possible without its success. Without the original show paving the way, we wouldn’t have popular series like Family Guy, South Park, Bob’s Burgers, King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt-head, American Dad, Futurama, Disenchantment, Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, BoJack Horseman, Central Park, Krapopolis, Big Mouth, Smiling Friends, F is for Family, or Daria. However, these shows weren’t simply copies of The Simpsons; they each brought something unique.

Many shows have taken inspiration from The Simpsons, but this really shows how much of a cultural phenomenon the original series became. Few shows have blatantly tried to replicate The Simpsons‘ success, and after 37 years, none have managed to achieve the same level of popularity.

7. Family Dog

It’s clear that Family Dog took a lot of inspiration from The Simpsons, centering around a similarly quirky and troubled family. Interestingly, the idea for Family Dog actually came from an episode of Amazing Stories that aired before the very first episode of The Simpsons, despite the show debuting later on.

Despite only lasting a short time, the animated show Family Dog had a lot of big names behind it. Brad Bird, who later became famous at Pixar, was a creative consultant on The Simpsons for its first eight seasons. Tim Burton designed the characters, and Steven Spielberg was a producer. Because of this impressive team, many expected Family Dog to become even more popular than The Simpsons.

However, Family Dog received overwhelmingly negative reviews. The New York Times described it as “mean, nasty, and brutish,” while TIME called it “inconsequential.” Though The Simpsons occasionally included some surprisingly dark humor, it generally maintained a warm and lighthearted tone.

Unlike later animated shows like South Park and Family Guy, Family Dog was simply too harsh for families, but it wasn’t quite as edgy or shocking. This put it in a difficult spot, and the show was canceled after just ten episodes.

6. Fish Police

Even though it didn’t last long, Fish Police definitely had a unique idea. The show, which starred John Ritter and Tim Curry, was based on a popular comic book and featured tough, detective-style stories, but with a twist – all the characters were fish who acted like humans.

The biggest problem with the Fish Police adaptation was that the original comic books were mystery stories with a surprisingly mature and sometimes unsettling tone, while still using familiar genre elements. The comic was humorous, but in a strange and surreal way, and it was as dark and intense as the Halloween specials from The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror.

The TV show, however, resembled a typical, lighthearted cartoon from Hanna Barbera’s 1960s style, though it occasionally included some surprising jokes aimed at adults to fit its later airtime. Fish Police only ran for six episodes and struggled to find the right mix of humor and content during its brief run. It was canceled in 1992, and the last three episodes were never broadcast.

5. Capitol Critters

While it’s true that Capitol Critters wasn’t alone in its political humor – The Simpsons also used satire early on – the show was fundamentally about a quirky family in a small town. This meant people could relate to the characters and enjoy the comedy even without knowing much about American politics.

Capitol Critters, a show featuring talking animals in Washington DC, ran into trouble. The show relied on jokes about current political events and figures, which quickly became old news. Surprisingly, despite the political setting, the writing wasn’t very sharp or critical when it came to actually satirizing US politics.

Despite featuring a young Neil Patrick Harris, who later became a sitcom star, the show Capitol Critters only lasted one season, just like Fish Police and Family Dog. While the show’s idea was unique, it wasn’t enough to attract a large audience.

4. Family Guy

An early Halloween special of The Simpsons playfully acknowledged some animated shows it had inspired, featuring cartoon tombstones for Fish Police, Family Dog, and Capitol Critters. But not all of these similar shows disappeared quickly. Family Guy, which premiered in 1999, briefly faced cancellation but is now enjoying its 24th season.

Though the newest seasons of Family Guy are quite different now, the show originally took a lot of inspiration from The Simpsons. Early episodes featured similar characters: a somewhat clueless but good-hearted father who enjoyed a drink, his patient wife, an older son, a younger daughter, a baby, and a family dog.

While Family Guy always put a unique twist on the typical family dynamic – featuring a super-intelligent baby and a sarcastic talking dog – it’s interesting to remember that shows like Fish Police, Family Dog, and Capitol Critters were heavily criticized for copying The Simpsons. Yet, those shows actually deviated from the Simpsons formula far more than Family Guy did.

3. The Goode Family

Created by Mike Judge, the same mind behind King of the Hill, The Goode Family premiered in 2009. While King of the Hill and Beavis and Butt-head have recently been revived to prove their lasting appeal, The Goode Family never reached the same level of popularity.

The show’s jokes about liberal politics were pretty shallow – not strong enough for even a typical Saturday Night Live skit, much less a whole TV series. But its main problem was that The Goode Family basically copied The Simpsons, just with a more conservative point of view.

2. Game Over

UPN’s animated sitcom, Game Over, was a costly failure despite having a talented voice cast including Patrick Warburton (from Family Guy), Lucy Liu, and comedic actresses Rachel Dratch and Elizabeth Daily. The show’s unique premise centered around the Smashenburn family, who lived as characters within a video game world.

The idea behind Game Over was to playfully poke fun at common themes in video games using the style of a sitcom. However, the show ended up feeling a lot like an extended sketch from The Simpsons‘ yearly Halloween specials.

1. Bordertown

Though it only aired for one season, from January to May 2016, Bordertown is considered by many to be a misunderstood TV show. The series centered on Bud Buckwald, a border patrol agent, his family, and their neighbor, Ernesto Gonzalez, a friendly immigrant, all living on the US-Mexico border.

Bordertown was both condescending and insulting, attempting to replicate the success of The Simpsons while tackling a controversial political topic. However, it did so with all the finesse of a blunt instrument. The show was a largely unwatchable failure, clearly borrowing heavily from The Simpsons, and it was unsurprisingly canceled after just one season.

2025-11-06 23:11