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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television, and the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 768 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of 2018. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books, and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons is produced by Gracie Films with 20th Television distributing the series. It has been distributed under the 20th Television Animation label since 2021, although the animation studio has produced animation for the series since season 28. (Full article...)

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The Simpsons' first season originally aired between December 17 1989 and May 13 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon. The series was originally set to debut in the fall of 1989 with the episode "Some Enchanted Evening", which was meant to introduce the main characters. However, during the first screening of the episode, the producers discovered that the animation was so appalling that 70% of the episode needed to be redone. The first season won one Emmy Award, and received four additional nominations. Although television shows are limited to one episode a category, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was considered a separate special, and nominated alongside "Life on the Fast Lane" for Outstanding Animated Program; "Life on the Fast Lane" won the award. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was also nominated for "Outstanding Editing in a Miniseries or Special", while "The Call of the Simpsons" was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special". The main theme song, composed by Danny Elfman, was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music". The DVD box set was released on September 25, 2001 in Region 1 and September 24, 2001 in both Region 2 and Region 4.

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Credit: nick aleck

Hank Azaria became a part of the regular cast of The Simpsons during the second season and voices many characters, including Moe, Chief Wiggum and Apu, Comic Book Guy, Carl, Cletus, Professor Frink and Dr. Nick. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.

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“

Oh, what gave me away? Out of curiosity, was it the "hoyvin" or the "maving" or was it the whole "GA-HOW-VING!" thing that I do?

”

— Professor Frink ("Sweets and Sour Marge")

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"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season. It originally aired on the FOX network in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult called the "Movementarians" takes over Springfield, and Homer and the rest of the Simpson family become members. Homer and Bart are initially introduced to a pair of young Movementarian recruiters in an airport. Homer becomes brainwashed, and moves his family into the cult compound. David Mirkin had the initial idea for the episode, Steve O'Donnell was the lead writer, and Steven Dean Moore directed. The writers drew on many groups to develop the Movementarians, but were principally influenced by Scientology, Heaven's Gate, the Unification Church and Peoples Temple. The episode was later analyzed from religious, philosophical and psychological perspectives, and books compared the Movementarians to many of the same groups that the writers had drawn influences from. The show contains many references to popular culture, including the title reference to The Joy of Sex and a gag involving Rover from the television program The Prisoner.

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Did you know...

...that in 1995, Matt Groening got in a major disagreement with James L. Brooks and other Simpsons producers over "A Star Is Burns", and requested his name be taken off the episode?

... that for "Homerpalooza", Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Pearl Jam and Hole were all sought to guest star but all four turned the offer down?

...that since leaving the series in 1993, Sam Simon has been credited as "Sam 'Sayonara' Simon" in the opening credits of Treehouse of Horror episodes?

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The following are images from various The Simpsons-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 2"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996
Image 3The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 4Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 5In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 6Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 7In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 8The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 9
David Mirkin
Image 10In 1991, Nancy Cartwright accepted a Kids' Choice Awards while wearing a Bart Simpson costume. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 11The show was criticized by several conservatives. Among those were President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 12Voice actor Phil Hartman was killed by his wife in a murder–suicide in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 13
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 14Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 15Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 16The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 17A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 18Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 19Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 20David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.

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I did a lot of really crappy sitcoms before I got to The Simpsons. .. It's a writer's paradise. You have no interference from the studio or the network, so you really get to do what you want. I know that once I leave the show, it's not going to be that way. So I'm very happy kind of milking it to the end.

— Mike Scully

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