The Simpsons Ending Is Long Overdue And Might Not Even Matter Anymore
Last year, Fox announced that the longest running sitcom in the history of American television was getting renewed for its 35 and 36th seasons. But only the most die-hard fans of the animated series could muster any excitement at this news. Many viewers who have grown up with the show have long waited for The Simpsons ending to finally happen, so that the franchise can finally stop beating a horse that’s been dead for longer than it was alive.
An Ending Won’t Be Easy
But The Simpsons ending wouldn’t be the easiest endeavor for showrunners to tackle. A feature film might have done the trick, had the show’s creators not blown it with the dull attempt at bringing the characters onto the big screen back in 2007. Developing a solid plot for a finale probably wouldn’t be worth the effort anyway if you look at how viewership has dwindled over the last 25 years.
The Simpsons Jumped The Shark Long Ago
Since season 12’s peak viewership of 14.7 viewers per episode in 2000-2001, The Simpsons began a slow tumble off of a ratings cliff that would have caused most networks to pull the plug years ago. By season 22 (2010-2011), the series had lost more than half of those numbers and saw its ranking drop from 21 to 65. Since the beginning of its 32nd season in 2021, it barely cracked 2 million per episode and really began making a strong case for a quick and painless ending.
Nothing Seems To Help
The ratings plummet is reason enough for the studio to eliminate any plans for The Simpsons ending being a true finale. A weak viewership that has resulted in the show only cracking the top 100 twice in six years shows that the once loyal fan base has long since moved on to other things. Not even bringing in guest stars like Aubrey Plaza or Megan Mullally, once proven to be a move that helped boost a particular episode’s standings, has attracted much attention.
Treehouse Of Horror
One of the most compelling reasons that The Simpsons ending should just be over and done with has been evident with ratings for their annual Treehouse of Horror episodes. For millions of fans, these stand-alone entries every fall were the event that the show’s year revolved around and were most often among the highest rated episodes every year. But even the fans who were tired of the show itself but still tuned in every fall for this Halloween episode have jumped ship.
Let It End
Whether the show gets renewed beyond the end of the 2024-2025 season remains to be seen. But with the ratings continuing to drop and without new fans being attracted to the series, The Simpsons just might be allowed to finally fade away into a quiet cancellation that should have happened well over a decade ago. That type of Simpsons ending might not even be noticed, but at least it would give the Fox network a coveted timeslot worthy of a more popular 30 minutes of television.
The Simpsons (still) airs Sundays at 8/7 Central on the Fox Network and 33 seasons are streaming on Disney+.
Sources: Statista
