The Simpsons’ Al Jean warns that the show could go on forever, and other teases for this season
Way back in 2002, The Simpsons wrapped up a clip show with a song titled “They’ll Never Stop The Simpsons.” A parody of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” the song listed a handful of the family’s previous adventures along with some humorous examples of where the show could go in the future, but the key joke of it was that the show could go on forever and the writers would never run out of ideas. However, like most of the gags from recent Simpsons episodes, that one is starting to look less and less like a joke.
The Simpsons will be starting season 26 later this month, and executive producer Al Jean recently sat down with Deadline to talk about the show’s future. When asked how much longer it will go on, Jean said it “could last two more years, maybe four, maybe more,” before adding that “no one has talked to us about wrapping the show.” In other words, nobody seems to have any intention of letting The Simpsons end any time soon. Part of this optimism for the show’s continued existence can be blamed on FXX’s 12-day marathon and the 25 million people who watched it, since Jean believes that it probably brought some lapsed Simpsons fans back into the fold.
In terms of things that are actually going to happen in our lifetimes, Jean talked a little bit more about the much-hyped death that’s going to occur in the season premiere. He said that “when we kill ‘em, they stay dead,” suggesting that whichever character dies won’t be brought back immediately afterward like Brian on Family Guy or every superhero that has ever died. As for this year’s Halloween episode, Jean says one segment will be a Neil Gaiman homage titled “School In Hell,” one will be a Clockwork Orange parody, and the third will be the previously announced crossover between the modern Simpsons and their ugly Tracey Ullman counterparts. The Simpsons will return on September 28, and then again every year after that until the universe explodes.