America’s favorite animated family isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It has been announced that FOX has renewed The Simpsons for seasons 33 & 34. The new renewal will keep the Disney-owned comedy on the air into 2023.
A renewal for The Simpsons was a no-brainer for Fox but getting there was a bit more complicated this time around. A lot of that has to do with Disney taking control of the series a couple of years ago as part of its $72 billion Fox asset deal. The show’s last renewal, in 2019, included a reduced licensing fee that helped pave the way for the Fox pickup as The Simpsons have been a loss leader for the network in terms of live ratings but generates sizable profits for the studio. The Simpsons is still a global asset and keeping around is still beneficial for the powers that be. It’s unclear if Disney further reduced its licensing fee for The Simpsons as part of the new deal.
The two-year renewal further gives Disney time to decide what it wants to do with The Simpsons. Should Disney decide to move The Simpsons to a different network or platform, it would allow the company to negotiate what could be a new billion-dollar broadcast, cable, and streaming pact(s) for The Simpsons for the first time since the show launched back in 1989. The Simpsons library is on Disney+; current season episodes are on Disney-owned Hulu.
The Simpsons continues to rank as the longest-running primetime scripted show in TV history & even though it’s not nearly as brilliant as it once was (seasons 1-10 still grab my attention all these years later), it’s such a part of the pop culture climate that I’m never upset to see it renewed. In fact, I think it will still be a sad day when it all ends. At least we won’t need to worry about that for at least two more years.
