The Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom in the history of the United States and is now in its 36th season but the gap between its last episode and next is reaching unprecedented levels.
Long seen as a cultural institution by fans, the animated series has undergone a few changes as of late such as switching channels in the United Kingdom and seeing one of its much-loved video games shut down for good.
Although season 36 has been mostly positively received by fans, its devoted followers might be concerned about the amount of time it has taken for its newest episode to air.
The last episode of the season, “Bottle Episode” was broadcast on 29 December. However, the following episode “The Flandshees of Innersimpson” will not air until 30 March. That’s a 91 day gap between episodes, making it the second longest break in the show’s history.
As reported by Screen Rant, the longest gap in Simpsons history is 111 days in season 3, between the episodes “Bart’s Friend Falls In Love” and “Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes.”
It should be noted that The Simpsons usually has a mid-season break and that another episode will be available from 12 February but that will be exclusive to Disney+ subscribers only.
This will also be the second shortest season in Simpsons history with just 18. The shortest remains season one, which had just 13 episodes.
Season 36 has already created headlines after it launched with an episode branded its “series finale”.
However, despite some confusion among viewers, the episode was actually a parody of what makes an effective finale, and imagined what the perfect ending of The Simpsons would look like – as written by AI.
Throughout the episode, there were animated recreations of final shots of shows including The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and Succession.
But when the title card first appeared on screen announcing the premiere as the “series finale”, viewers quickly jumped to social media to share their surprise at what they believed to have been a well-kept secret.
The episode was hosted by an animated version of Conan O’Brien, who said at the start: “It’s such an honour to be with you all for the series finale of The Simpsons... Well, it’s true. Fox has decided to end The Simpsons. This show was such a special part of my early career, so being here means the world to me.”
To mark the fake occasion, O’Brien then introduced what he claimed to be the original cuts of classic Simpsons scenes to have aired since it started in 1989. The episode then offered some clichéd ideas of how The Simpsons could end, including Principal Skinner’s retirement, Moe’s shutting down and the death of Mr Burns.
