The Simpsons is celebrating a massive milestone this weekend with its 800th episode, but fans hoping for a sentimental goodbye whenever the show eventually ends might want to lower their expectations. Showrunner Matt Selman has made it crystal clear that the long-running animated sitcom has no plans to go out with the kind of emotional farewell that most TV series deliver.
Instead of building toward one final episode that wraps up decades of stories, the team behind America’s favorite yellow family is taking a completely different approach. They already did a fake series finale, and that was their way of saying they will never do a real one.
The Fake Finale That Said It All
About a year and a half ago, The Simpsons pulled a fast one on its audience. The Season 36 premiere, titled “Bart’s Birthday,” fooled many viewers into thinking they were watching the actual end of the show. Former Simpsons writer Conan O’Brien hosted what appeared to be a farewell special, complete with Fox network branding and everything .
What viewers got instead was a brilliant parody of every cliché series finale ever made. The episode featured an AI service called HackGPT generating a ridiculous ending for Springfield, with Mr. Burns dying, Moe’s Tavern closing, Krusty ending his show, Milhouse moving to Atlanta, Principal Skinner retiring, and Maggie finally speaking .
Selman explained the thinking behind the episode in a recent interview with The Wrap. “We jammed every possible series finale concept into one show, so that was sort of my way of saying we’re never going to do a series finale,” he said. “We did a series finale in the middle of the show that made fun of all the ideas of wrapping everything up or ending” .
Why a Traditional Goodbye Doesn’t Fit Springfield
The reasoning behind this no-finale philosophy comes down to the very nature of The Simpsons itself. Unlike shows that build season-long arcs or characters who grow and change, Springfield’s residents reset every single week.
Selman puts it simply: “The show isn’t supposed to change. The characters reset every week. It’s like Groundhog Day but they don’t know it — and they don’t die that much” .
This approach has kept the show fresh for nearly four decades. Executive producer Al Jean told the Associated Press that skipping a big overarching story helped the show last this long. “We’ve done 800 episodes, and I’m really glad we didn’t do a big overarching story. You always return to square one at the end of the show. And there’s no question that was a big influence on the longevity” .
Selman takes this idea even further when it comes to the show’s canon, or lack thereof. “I am not worried about messing with the timeline,” he told Entertainment Weekly last October. “I feel like story and character should come first, and the cinematic universe rules of a show that has none should come in a distant second. It’s just a silly little show!” .
If the Show Ever Ends, Don’t Expect Tears
So what happens if one day The Simpsons actually stops producing new episodes? Selman has a very specific vision for how that would go down, and it involves absolutely zero sentimentality.
“If the show ever did end, there’s no finale, it would just be a regular episode that has the family in it. Probably a little Easter egg here and there, but no ‘I’m going to miss this place,’” he told The Wrap .
Selman had previously described what he doesn’t want when talking to The New York Post around the time the fake finale aired. “To do a sappy crappo series finale, like most other shows do, would be so lame. So we just did one that was, like, over the top” .
The 800th Episode Celebration
Before anyone worries about the show ending anytime soon, The Simpsons is very much alive and kicking. This Sunday, February 15, the series airs its 800th episode on Fox. Titled “Irrational Treasure,” the episode follows the family on a trip to Philadelphia and features an impressive lineup of guest stars .
Quinta Brunson, Kevin Bacon, Questlove, and The Pitt’s Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, and Taylor Dearden all lend their voices to the milestone episode. Boyz II Men will provide special music for the occasion .
The episode airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox, and like all modern episodes, it will be available for streaming afterward on Hulu and Disney+ .
No End in Sight
Al Jean made it clear that the show isn’t wrapping up anytime soon. “There’s no end in sight. We’re gonna go to Season 40, at least. Full steam ahead. Believe it or not, there are still stories that we haven’t gotten around to that are just in my head that I want us to do” .
The Disney acquisition of Fox in 2019 actually gave The Simpsons new life. The show became available on Disney+, introducing Springfield to a whole generation of younger viewers who might not have caught it on traditional TV. Selman notes that streaming has also given the creative team more freedom, allowing them to experiment beyond the strict time limits of broadcast television .
Creator Matt Groening, who has spent 38 years overseeing his creation, says he still pushes the team to improve. Even after all these years, he’s “now trying to get them to draw the characters correctly. We’ve got to figure out how to shift perspective and do it more cinematically and we’re always trying to improve” .
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The Secret to 800 Episodes
How does a show stay fresh for 800 episodes? For Selman, it comes down to treating each episode like its own little movie.
“We just want to make every separate episode its own amazing little mini movie that stands on its own and is original from the other 799,” he explained to TheWrap. “It’s a hard challenge, but it’s a really fun challenge, that quest for originality” .
Selman has been with the show since 1997, when he wrote the Season 9 episode “Natural Born Kissers.” He became an executive producer in 2005, co-showrunner in 2021, and sole showrunner in 2024. Over nearly three decades, he’s won six Emmys for his work on the series .
He still feels grateful for the opportunity. “There aren’t a lot of people in show business that have a green light to do whatever they want,” he said. “We’re just the luckiest writer Ding-Dongs in the world. I just don’t want to screw it up” .
What About Those Predictions?
The Simpsons has become famous over the years for supposedly predicting the future, from Donald Trump’s presidency to various technological advances. But Selman says that’s never the goal in the writers’ room.
“We never try to predict anything. We just know that people are silly and make bad decisions, and the people in Springfield are easily misled and are kind of Ding-Dongs,” he told TheWrap. “They’re good at heart, just like everybody is kind of good at heart, but they can be misled into making bad choices and manipulated and being short-sighted and selfish and all these things” .
Groening jokingly told News18 that the makers are time travelers when asked about the prediction phenomenon. He added that the show will likely still be running after a thousand years, and people would still complain about its quality .
The Simpsons airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox, with episodes streaming afterward on Hulu and Disney+. The 800th episode, “Irrational Treasure,” premieres February 15.
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