The Simpsons’ former boss reveals moment the show was “almost cancelled”

by

Despite being the longest-running American sitcom ever, The Simpsons nearly ended its run. Writer and producer Mike Reiss shared this surprising detail in a recent podcast interview.

The show almost didn’t make it to television – network executives were very unhappy with the early versions and considered canceling it before the first episode even aired.

He remembered a well-known story about Awkward Productions’ My Roman Empire, as reported by the Huffington Post. Apparently, the group sat down to watch the first episode of The Simpsons, and it was a complete disaster.

Okay, so I heard the story about how rough the start of this show was! Apparently, the Fox executives were really worried after spending $13 million on it. It wasn’t landing well – the animation quality was poor, and the animators were sneaking in their own little gags that didn’t help. Honestly, it almost didn’t even make it to air! It’s crazy to think how close we were to never seeing it.

Fortunately, the following week the show returned with complete animation and looked fantastic. However, by that point, it was too late to start broadcasting it.

What to Read Next

Originally, we planned to launch in September, but we decided to hold off until our Christmas special, episode nine. This gave us about four to five months to polish up the earlier episodes before releasing them.

The very first episode of The Simpsons was called “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire,” a Christmas story where the family gets their well-known dog, Santa’s Little Helper. (Be warned, this does reveal a key plot point!)

The show first aired in December 1989 and, over 36 years later, continues to be popular. A second full-length movie is scheduled for release in July 2027.

When The Simpsons eventually finishes, the current executive producer, Matt Selman, doesn’t expect it to have a final, conclusive ending.

He told The Wrap they created an episode about a year and a half ago that was a humorous take on a series finale.

We threw in every possible idea for how the show could end, all in one episode. It was my way of saying we weren’t planning a traditional series finale. We basically did a finale in the middle of the season, poking fun at the idea of neatly wrapping things up or ending the story.

The Simpsons airs on Disney+ in the UK.

The latest issue of Living Legends, a vibrant, full-color 100-page magazine dedicated to Harry Styles, is now available! You can purchase it at newsstands or online.

Read More

2026-03-27 22:50