The Simpsons’ co-showrunner has discussed how the long-running series will continue to treat topical issues, as its 37th season begins.
Unlike fellow animated series South Park — which has previously aired episodes made from scratch in just seven days, and enjoyed huge ratings this season after featuring notable criticism of President Trump — The Simpsons is made using a more traditional model, with scripts written months before episodes are broadcast.
This means The Simpsons has always been limited in how topical it can be — and there’s seemingly no desire for this to change, according to co-showrunner Matt Selman.
“We’re not gonna do a big show where the president comes to town. We did do that, but he was George Bush and he’d been out of office for quite some time,” Selman told Entertainment Weekly. “And, you know, we just don’t do big topical things, ’cause the topical is so chaotic and nuts. So we have to look at the bigger trends.”
The Simpsons’ latest season began last night with “Thrifty Ways to Thieve Your Mother,” in which Marge reminisces about the ’90s, while Homer reflects on the pace of movies ending up on streaming platforms. (In other words, unsurprisingly, President Trump’s genitalia was kept out of sight.)
“When you write a show that doesn’t come out until 10 months after you write it, it kind of takes the pressure off, because who knows what the f*** we’re gonna be looking at in 10 months,” Selman said. “South Park, they make their show in a week, and even they can’t stay up to date on things. More crazy s*** goes down faster than even they can do it.
“And you know, Jimmy Kimmel’s great,” Selman continued, referencing the chat show host’s brief suspension by Disney bosses, “and I’m glad he is back on TV. Censorship sucks. What can I say? Censorship sucks. But it’s not our mission statement to respond to the crisis of the moment. It’s more about a town of good-natured dum-dums dealing with a changing world, yet our characters never really change. The world changes around them.”
Upcoming episodes this season will include the series’ annual Treehouse of Horror special, which includes a segment that mixes Jaws with The Blob. The Simpsons will also soon reach its landmark 800th episode, which Selman teases will focus on Santa’s Little Helper, the family’s beloved dog. “It involves the dog,” he said. “The dog gets fat.”
“Ideally, I would like to think that people on both sides of our divided nation can watch The Simpsons and feel that, like America, Springfield is a town of people who are good, but easily misled,” Selman concluded. “Whatever your definition of misled is, you can apply that to the show.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
