After 37 Seasons, The Simpsons Retains One Advantage No Other Show Has

After 37 seasons and more than 35 years on air, The Simpsons remains distinctive among animated sitcoms. Its art style is instantly recognizable, but the show’s longevity stems from more than visuals. Mike Price, an executive producer, says the show’s greatest asset is its large, colorful cast.

Having been on for so long and built so many characters, the series can devote whole episodes to figures who would be peripheral on other shows — examples include Kirk Van Houten, Mayor Quimby and Principal Skinner — and probe subjects from Kirk’s bipolar disorder to Quimby’s ancestry.

That freedom lets writers reframe familiar faces and keep the series feeling fresh. The recent season finale, "Homer? A Cracker Bro?", turned Kirk from a soft-spoken butt of jokes into a sympathetic, complex figure, showing both his manic rise when his crumbless cracker business takes off and his low period afterward.

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