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'The Simpsons' airs its 768th episode tonight. Here's how its writers keep things fresh

Toward the end of its 35th season, 'The Simpsons' made a move that rankled some fans: It killed a longtime resident of Springfield. (Fox via CNN Newsource) Toward the end of its 35th season, 'The Simpsons' made a move that rankled some fans: It killed a longtime resident of Springfield. (Fox via CNN Newsource)
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Toward the end of its 35th season, 鈥溾 made a move that rankled some fans: It killed a longtime resident of Springfield.

Larry the Barfly died in Moe鈥檚 Tavern, where he鈥檚 been a mostly wordless mainstay since the 1989 pilot. Even longtime 鈥淪impsons鈥 fans would be forgiven for never learning Larry鈥檚 name 鈥撯 Homer and the other Moe鈥檚 regulars certainly didn鈥檛 know anything else about their drinking buddy, as was made mournfully clear at Larry鈥檚 poorly attended funeral.

And though Larry made little-to-no impact on Homer and his family over 35 seasons, 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 gave him a moving sendoff anyway and even a reason for being. In death, he brings the men of Moe鈥檚 together outside of the bar to reaffirm that they do, in fact, like each other 鈥 even when they鈥檙e not drunk on Duff.

After a winding journey to scatter Larry鈥檚 ashes at a waterfall they assume he liked (they barely spoke to the man, after all) and narrowly escaping jewel thieves and a fall off of a cliff, the men return Larry鈥檚 urn to the place they鈥檙e sure he loved: Moe鈥檚.

鈥淗ow many people were thinking, 鈥業 like Larry the Barfly,鈥 before the episode aired? I would say under 10,鈥 said Matt Selman, sardonic showrunner of 鈥淭he Simpsons,鈥 in an interview with CNN. 鈥淏ut I guess it鈥檚 a testament to the episode that after we killed him, people discovered that they cared about him.鈥

Episodes like 鈥淐remains of the Day,鈥 which aired on April 21, are part of why 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 endures 鈥撯 it鈥檚 still mining depth from characters we鈥檝e known for decades and finding new stories in the corners of Springfield that viewers think they know well.

Viewers have followed the buffoonish Homer, devoted Marge, mischievous Bart, socially conscious Lisa, observant Maggie and their hundreds of eccentric neighbors for more than 30 years. There have been hundreds of , and that have inspired a cultish obsession among protective fans. It birthed a 2007 film that worldwide and rides at two . Oh, and it popularized the now-booming subgenre of the adult animated comedy.

But the trick to keeping 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 relevant and exciting all these years later, Selman said, is to keep the out of mind as much as possible.

鈥淲e have to be honest with ourselves: Most comedic language invented by 鈥楾he Simpsons鈥 is from its 鈥榞lory years,鈥欌 Selman said, referring to the first eight to 10 seasons of the show that many fans and critics consider its best. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 create as many memes and things your dad quotes anymore. I think if we set that as a goal, it would be a very hard goal.鈥

So rather than dwell on all the milestones his series has set 鈥撯 it鈥檚 the longest-tenured animated series ever and the longest-running sitcom on TV 鈥撯 Selman and his writers approach 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 as if it does not have nearly 35 years of history (and a fervent, opinionated fanbase) behind it: 鈥淚f the show was brand new today, how would we write it?鈥

Writers new and familiar keep 'The Simpsons' fresh

Part of keeping 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 current requires Selman, who鈥檚 written for the show since 1997, to find a balance between the series鈥 greatest hits and big swings.

This undated frame from the series 'The Simpsons,' shows the popular cartoon family posing in front of their home. (Fox Broadcasting Co.)

It鈥檚 what the show鈥檚 earliest seasons did well: Classic episodes like 鈥溾楻ound Springfield鈥 from the sixth season was a bittersweet departure from the show鈥檚 antic tone as Lisa mourned the death of her jazz hero, Bleeding Gums Murphy, and season seven鈥檚 鈥22 Short Films About Springfield鈥 traded the show鈥檚 typical narrative structure for vignettes about supporting characters like and Bumblebee Man.

Selman wanted 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 to rediscover its experimental streak. So, over the last few seasons, the show has hired new writers who grew up watching it 鈥撯 people like Loni Steele Sosthand, Cesar Mazariegos and Broti Gupta 鈥撯 to share the room with 鈥淪impsons鈥 stalwarts like John Frink and Mike Price, who鈥檝e written for the show since the 2000s. There are around 16 writers per season, typically made up of 22 episodes, though this season has just 18 due to .

鈥淲hatever it takes to keep the show vital and original, we do,鈥 he said.

There are rarely guidelines for what makes a good episode of 鈥淭he Simpsons,鈥 but encouraging writers to bring what they love about the show to the fore and try new things has vastly expanded 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥欌 universe and the kinds of stories it can tell.

Recent seasons of the show have followed up the aforementioned classic episodes with spiritual successors that are still decidedly contemporary 鈥撯 鈥淭he Sound of Bleeding Gums鈥 follows Lisa鈥檚 tentative , while 鈥淟isa the Boy Scout鈥 with that don鈥檛 exist.

鈥淗ow do you tell a story that hasn鈥檛 been told already?鈥 said Sosthand. 鈥淭he way you do that is by bringing some of your unique point of view to it but also still respecting the world that exists.鈥

Sosthand, who joined the show in 2020, pulled from her own life for a lauded recent episode about Carl Carlson, one of Homer鈥檚 drinking buddies and one of the only major Black characters on 鈥淭he Simpsons.鈥

A 2013 episode revealed that Carl was adopted by a White couple from Iceland and later moved to Springfield to pursue nuclear physics. But Sosthand, who is mixed race, wanted Carl to , so she wrote him an episode in which he visits Springfield鈥檚 hitherto unexplored Black neighborhood, which inspires him to learn about his ancestors, who were Black cowboys in the West. Last month, Sosthand for the episode, beating out writers room.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always great to show the inner life of a character who you didn鈥檛 think had an inner life,鈥 Selman said, pointing to similarly revealing episodes about , and . 鈥淵ou unpeel the onion about these goofy people鈥檚 inner lives; you find pathos, pain, joy and failures 鈥撯 that鈥檚 one of the luxuries of our universe.鈥

New episodes embrace the 'Treehouse of Horror' chaos

Instead of one writer going off on their own to pen a script, the creative process is more collaborative now than it has been in past seasons.

Someone might have a 鈥渂are wisp of an idea,鈥 Price said, and Selman will jot it down in a notebook or start a discussion with the writers鈥 room. They鈥檒l finesse the idea together or hold onto something they think might be a thread to follow in a later episode, but a script is rarely the brainchild of just one writer.

鈥淢ost of the time, it kind of belongs to everybody,鈥 said Mazariegos, whose that had already been written and animated, when he suggested that Homer with the ubiquitous meme of himself .

To keep the process from getting stale, when Selman became primary showrunner around 2021, he urged the writers to pursue 鈥渂lue-sky鈥 ideas that before might鈥檝e seemed too out-there. The writers wanted to harness the energy that surrounded the making of the famed , which takes the show in zanier directions, thematically and visually, than a typical episode does, Mazariegos said. (This season鈥檚 installment killed off Bart in an alternate version of the classic episode 鈥淐ape Feare鈥 and featured a virus that turned everyone into copies of Homer.)

鈥淓very show should be an event in some way,鈥 Price said of the new mindset in the writers鈥 room. 鈥淲e鈥檙e almost 800 episodes in. How do you make 801 stand out?鈥

The real world comes to Springfield in recent seasons

Some of the most successful new episodes have put a Simpsonian twist on real-life themes that already feel stranger than fiction. In the 35th season alone, Marge has taken a job at a food delivery ghost kitchen and encourages her coworkers to unionize, Bart turned into an NFT in a 鈥淭reehouse of Horror鈥 segment and DJ Crazy Times of 鈥溾 fame turned up to about .

鈥(Selman is) always encouraging us to think that way 鈥撯 what are things the Simpsons could do that is engaging with the world now?鈥 Price said.

In this file image released by 20th Century Fox, a scene from the, "The Simpsons Movie," is shown. (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, file)

Price wrote last season鈥檚 鈥淗ostile Kirk Place,鈥 a riff on book banning and modifications to the way history is taught in some public schools. Milhouse鈥檚 dad Kirk turns Springfield into a dictatorship after he attempts to censor Milhouse鈥檚 history lesson.

It turns out Milhouse鈥檚 lack of luck is a family curse: His ancestor was responsible for a shoddy gazebo that fell and crushed a happy crowd 鈥 an embarrassing fact that Kirk would like excised from Springfield Elementary鈥檚 history curriculum.

But there are timeless episodes that could work in any year of the show鈥檚 run. This season, Price gave Groundskeeper Willie a starring role in a sweet story about the misunderstood janitor鈥檚 lost Scottish love.

鈥淭he show is capable of holding all these things in it, which I think makes it still feel like something that you want to watch every Sunday night,鈥 Price said.

This season ends on May 19 with 鈥淏art鈥檚 Brain,鈥 in which Bart bonds with a brain in a jar, an episode Selman said feels like 鈥渃lassic Simpsons.鈥 It鈥檚 got all the ingredients of early season highlights: The entire Simpsons brood is in the episode, and it balances emotional heft with typical Bart hijinx.

When 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 returns in the fall for its 36th season, though, it鈥檒l shift gears once again into the fantastical. Its first several episodes are detours through sci-fi and horror, plus a sequel of sorts to one of the classic episodes named here. (No spoilers!)

The writers are even ceding an episode next season to Ned Flanders, who will finally reflect on the deaths of his wives Maude Flanders and Edna Krabappel, because it鈥檚 鈥渘ever too late to emotionally address a past trauma,鈥 Selman said.

And those are just from the first half of the season.

Some critics have 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥欌 current era as a creative renaissance for the show. It鈥檚 nice that their hard work has been noticed, Selman said, but critical appraisal of 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 is always in flux. Better to mostly ignore the hype and keep doing the difficult but exceptionally gratifying work of keeping 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 funny.

鈥淲e have been written off many times,鈥 Selman said. 鈥淏ut I think it鈥檚 going to be around for a while. I think we can stay relevant.鈥

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