The Simpsons showrunner on 800 episodes and 'freaky' predictions

Springfield is marking a milestone as "The Simpsons" reaches its 800th episode Sunday at 8 p.m. on Fox. The story sends the family to Philadelphia and includes a satire of HBO Max medical drama "The Pitt," featuring Noah Wyle. First aired in 1989, the series stands as the longest-running American sitcom, animated series and primetime scripted show.

Showrunner Matt Selman said steady ratings and the arrival on Disney+ after Fox merged with Disney helped introduce the series to a new generation of younger fans, so he never feared cancellation. Selman, who joined the show in 1997 and became an executive producer in 2005 before taking the showrunning post, called some of the series' accurate predictions "unnerving." "It sort of makes you think maybe we live in a simulation, or something like that," he said, while adding that he sees those moments as coincidences — "although the coincidences that we did happen to predict are pretty freaky." He noted the series has not faced major creative roadblocks and that the network rarely intervenes.

United States, Philadelphia

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