Set in the fictional town of Springfield , it caricatures society, Western culture, television and the human condition , and is still in current release. The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks.
He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to " simpleton ". After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season — Since its debut on December 17, , episodes of the show have been broadcast.
It is the longest-running American animated series , longest-running American sitcom , and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series , both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie , was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, , to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of The series has also spawned numerous comic book series , video games , books and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry.
The Simpsons was initially a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television ; 20th Television's involvement was later moved to 20th Television Animation , a separate unit of Disney Television Studios. On January 26, , the series was renewed for its 35th and 36th seasons, taking the show through the —25 television season. Seven of these episodes are season 34 holdovers, while the other 44 will be produced in the production cycle of the upcoming seasons, bringing the show's overall episode total up to The Simpsons received widespread acclaim throughout its early seasons in the s, which are generally considered its "golden age".
Since then, it has been criticized for a perceived decline in quality. Time named it the 20th century's best television series, [ 10 ] and Erik Adams of The A. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". Homer's exclamatory catchphrase of " D'oh! The main characters are the Simpson family , who live in the fictional " Middle America " town of Springfield. They have three children: Bart , a ten-year-old troublemaker and prankster; Lisa , a precocious eight-year-old activist; and Maggie named by Bart , [ 13 ] the baby of the family who rarely speaks, but communicates by sucking on a pacifier.
