The Simpsons to pass 800 episodes with season 35 and 36 renewal

The Simpsons
(Image credit: FOX)

The Simpsons has been renewed for a 35th and 36th season.

Created by Matt Groenig, the hit Fox-turned-Disney animated comedy began as a series of shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show way back in 1987 before becoming a weekly series in 1989,, and will now pass the 800-episode mark. The show also holds the record for longest-running scripted comedy, cartoon, and overall primetime series in television history. Gunsmoke previously held the titled for longest running primetime series with 637 episodes, but The Simpsons crossed the 750 episode mark just last year.

Fox renewed Family Guy and Bob's Burgers, two wildly popular animated shows that have even crossed over with The Simpsons on one occasion. 

"With this trio of renewals, we celebrate excellence in animation on Fox, our wonderful, longtime partnership with 20th Television and the brilliant creators and incredible voices behind these forever favorites," said Michael Thorn, President of Scripted Programming for Fox Entertainment. "Three-plus decades of The Simpsons, more than two decades of Family Guy and over a decade of Bob’s Burgers proves the enduring power of the animation genre on our network and the infinite fan affinity for these outrageously funny comedy classics."

"Eight hundred episodes — not even The Simpsons could have predicted this," executive producer Matt Selman told Entertainment Weekly.

The hit Fox-turned-Disney animated comedy, which began as a series of shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show way back in 1987, For more, check out our list of the best Simpsons episodes, or, check out our ranking of the 100 best TV shows of all time.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.