The Simpsons has been renewed for seasons 29 and 30, it was announced Friday.
The double-season renewal will allow the long-running animated comedy to break Gunsmoke‘s record of most episodes of a scripted series ever. Gunsmoke is currently tops with 635 episodes, but at the end of season 30, The Simpsons will have reached 669 episodes.
“Take that Gunsmoke!” lead character Homer Simpson said in a statement. “You lost a race you didn’t even know you were running!”
The double-renewal comes weeks after The Simpsons hit its 600th episode — a half-hour that drew an impressive 3.6 live-plus-seven rating in the adults 18-49 demo. Thanks to The Simpsons’ continued success on Sundays, two-season renewals have become standard for the series, which was last picked up for seasons 27 and 28 in May 2015.
James L. Brooks, Matt Groening and Al Jean exec produce the series, which hails from Gracie Films Production in association with 20th Century Fox TV.
“This is yet another record-setting moment for what is truly a landmark series,” Fox TV Group chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman said. “The Simpsons has meant so much to the network, the studio and everyone at Fox, and its continued cultural impact around the globe is a testament to the combined brilliance of Matt, Jim and Al. Congratulations to everyone who works on this groundbreaking series — from the voice cast and producers to the writers and production team — you comprise one of the greatest collections of creative talent in the history of the medium. And to the millions of Simpsons fans around the world, thank you for watching all these years. We’re happy to tell you there’s lots more to come.”
Currently in the middle of its 28th season, The Simpsons already stands as the longest-running scripted show in television history. In addition to its long run on Fox, the family comedy has spawned a film and a ride at Universal Studios.
The renewal makes The Simpsons one of a handful of broadcast series picked up for the 2017-18 season. NCISearned a two-season renewal earlier this year, and NBC recently announced that hit singing competition The Voice will be back in the fall.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
