After wrapping up Season 32 earlier this year, The Simpsons isn't showing any signs of slowing. Viewers can debate until they're blue in the face about whether the show is still good, but the ratings remain high. For that reason, among others, one of the show's producers says that he and his colleagues have no plans to stop making new episodes. In fact, they could continue making The Simpsons forever.
Mike Reiss, long-time writer and producer on The Simpsons, told Metro that the show may very well never end. As long as people are watching and the cast and crew are happy, the long-running animated series "may just go on forever," he said.
"It's sort of built like the kind of show that runs forever," Reiss explained. "The Simpsons is just about the world, about humanity and what's going on in the world and what we do as humans, and for us to give up on the show is to say we've explored everything human beings can do and anything that can ever happen in the world."
Reiss continued: "People ask, 'Why has The Simpsons run so long?' like we have some magic formula. If The Simpsons wasn't on air, the longest-running show would be South Park, if it wasn't South Park it would be Family Guy."
Part of what keeps the series going is a happy cast, the producer explained. And it's easy to see why. Most of the series' voice actors are compensated generously. Even after taking a pay cut in 2011, cast members were making roughly $300,000 per episode each.
"Cartoons go forever," Reiss said. "The only reason a hit show goes off the air is because the cast gets tired. That is not an issue on cartoons."
Reiss added that if a show sucks, "It goes off the air. If they don't like the show, stop watching. If enough people stop watching it'll end."
Back in March, the series was renewed for two more seasons.
Mike Reiss, long-time writer and producer on The Simpsons, told Metro that the show may very well never end. As long as people are watching and the cast and crew are happy, the long-running animated series "may just go on forever," he said.
"It's sort of built like the kind of show that runs forever," Reiss explained. "The Simpsons is just about the world, about humanity and what's going on in the world and what we do as humans, and for us to give up on the show is to say we've explored everything human beings can do and anything that can ever happen in the world."
Reiss continued: "People ask, 'Why has The Simpsons run so long?' like we have some magic formula. If The Simpsons wasn't on air, the longest-running show would be South Park, if it wasn't South Park it would be Family Guy."
Part of what keeps the series going is a happy cast, the producer explained. And it's easy to see why. Most of the series' voice actors are compensated generously. Even after taking a pay cut in 2011, cast members were making roughly $300,000 per episode each.
"Cartoons go forever," Reiss said. "The only reason a hit show goes off the air is because the cast gets tired. That is not an issue on cartoons."
Reiss added that if a show sucks, "It goes off the air. If they don't like the show, stop watching. If enough people stop watching it'll end."
Back in March, the series was renewed for two more seasons.
