An original Simpsons writer has stepped down after more than two decades as showrunner and fans are calling it the "end of an era"

The Simpsons' veteran writer Al Jean is stepping down as showrunner after more than two decades. Jean, who has been a part of the creative team in the animated show since its first season, announced the news on social media, thanking viewers and teasing an upcoming episode from a "brilliant" new team.

"Thank you for watching @TheSimpsons tonight … next week the last (Simpsons) episode I’ll showrun (at least for now), although as always I’m still thrilled to work on the show. 11/2 an episode by a brilliant new director and a writer I am never satisfied with," he wrote on X.

Despite being an understated farewell message (at least, "for now"), Jean's long history and influence in The Simpsons makes this a huge moment. As some fans pointed out in the comments, it's "the end of an era" for the show.

Al Jean started as a writer in the first two seasons of the show, in the late '80s and early '90s, before becoming co-showrunner alongside Mike Reiss for the next two seasons. After writing several episodes in subsequent seasons and working as the main writer in the tenth, Jean became the showrunner of the show in season 13, which was originally released in 2001. He's held that position until now – that's more than 20 years leading the writing team.

By the sounds of it, Jean will still be a part of the series. As the co-creator of the Talking Simpsons podcast, Henry Gilbert said on BlueSky: "Sounds like he’ll still be involved as a writer-producer like David Mirkin or Mike Reiss, but Matt Selman will be sole showrunner now. End of an era."

With or without Jean, The Simpsons shows no signs of slowing down, as the show was renewed until at least season 40. Creator Matt Groening stated earlier this year that there's "no end in sight" for the animated title: "We're going to keep going. We're going to go until somebody dies" (via Variety).

In other news, a second Simpsons movie was announced last month, two decades after the first film. As announced by Disney's 20th Century Studios, The Simpsons Movie 2 will be released in theaters on July 23, 2027.

While you wait, check out the 25 best Simpsons episodes of all time.