I wanted to share my thoughts on The Simpsons' renewal...

It has been an interesting week for the cast of The Simpsons and its fans. After twenty-three seasons, the series could have faced cancellation today, but the cast has agreed to dramatic pay cuts in order keep the show alive for another two seasons, its twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth! This will keep the show on the air through May of 2014, and extend the episode count to an astounding 559 episodes. The problem FOX faces though is that while the show stills generates respectable ratings, it isn't as profitable a property until it faces the axe. Once it's cancelled, FOX is looking at close to a $750 million dollar profit by selling the reruns to cable syndicators. Thanks to some poor decision making by those who cross the 'T's and dot the 'I's, FOX is forbidden from selling basic cable rights until the show goes off the air. Many are expecting the show's twenty-fifth season to be its last, but that might all depend on the success of an upcoming resurrection; in the Fall of 2013, FOX will launch a Seth MacFarlane Flintstones revival.

Read the rest of this editorial (http://ryanschwartz.posterous.com/the-simpsons-the-flintstones-and-the-future-o)

The Simpsons may be the longest running scripted prime-time TV Series in history, but there are at least two other series that had more episodes. They were:

Gunsmoke (1955-1975) 635 Episodes

Lassie (1954-1973) 591 Episodes

If anyone knows of any other TV Series with more Episodes than The Simpsons feel free to let us know. :D

I have a question for whoever posted the editorial: What if both the Simpsons and Family Guy end their runs, and all the others are cancelled, and the Animation Domination block gets thrown out altogether?

I have a question for whoever posted the editorial: What if both the Simpsons and Family Guy end their runs, and all the others are cancelled, and the Animation Domination block gets thrown out altogether?

Dunno...

Is "The Flinstones" STILL pwned by WB?

Animation domination can't last forever look at ABC's old TGIF block.

I have a question for whoever posted the editorial: What if both the Simpsons and Family Guy end their runs, and all the others are cancelled, and the Animation Domination block gets thrown out altogether?
i don't think that is going to happen any time soon - it is still way too successful for FOX. With all the new animated shows they keep trying out, it seems like they are trying to expand Animation Domination possibly to another night again.

The Simpsons may be the longest running scripted prime-time TV Series in history, but there are at least two other series that had more episodes. They were:

Gunsmoke (1955-1975) 635 Episodes

Lassie (1954-1973) 591 Episodes

If anyone knows of any other TV Series with more Episodes than The Simpsons feel free to let us know. :D
Doctor Who has been running from 1963–1989, 1996, and 2005–present with 776 episodes as of 28 May 2011 (they've had at least 4 more episodes in the last couple of months, and another series will air on BBC America next spring or summer).

*update - they are currently at episode # 783

i don't think that is going to happen any time soon - it is still way too successful for FOX. With all the new animated shows they keep trying out, it seems like they are trying to expand Animation Domination possibly to another night again.

Highly doubt that's going to happen due to the limited primetime schedule FOX has.

Im a little confused. According to what I read in the link The Simpsons cant be on cable until the show gets canceled. How come I watch it at 6pm on my CT. CW affiliate?

Im a little confused. According to what I read in the link The Simpsons cant be on cable until the show gets canceled. How come I watch it at 6pm on my CT. CW affiliate?
The CW is a broadcast network, not cable.

I always wondered why it was taking so long for The Simpsons to come to cable. That clears it up, thanks.

Question: Why must animated series run longer than live-action series?

Does it really bother you that The Simpsons has been on so long?

Question: Why must animated series run longer than live-action series?
i think that part of the reason is that voice actors don't visibly age in cartoons, so they can literally do it until they die, and they tend to typically get paid less than the visible live-action actors (the Simpsons cast is probably the biggest exception to this rule though)

i don't hold James's opinion about this against him - it drives me CRAZY that some of those crappy reality/competition shows are still on the air... if I could find an argument that would force the networks to get rid of THAT crap I wouldn't shut up about it.

A few more:

Why must these Animation Domination series (and SP) follow a floating timeline? (i.e. the characters don't visibly age despite all the current events that develop over a long period of time. The current events, fads, and gadgets would otherwise be anachronisms in the year of the character's/series' introduction. The characters may eventually be criticized in the later years of the show for not aging, and fanart may come up depicting what the characters would look like in the current year if they had aged.) A show that follows a floating timeline does not deserve to run for 15-20 seasons, even if the quality of the writing and its Nielsen ratings are still high.

I also think that if Futurama hadn't gone through all the troubles it had during its run on FOX (the network treated it like crap, probably with the frequent timeslot changes, which caused it to quit the network and move to Comedy Central a few years later), that would still be running on FOX today (in its 13th season) and The Simpsons would have ended anyway (if that happened, I'd let FG, AD, Cleveland, and the rest of the Animation block play out during the 2000s-2010s).

I've been a Simpsons fan but have to admit it's coming to an end. I haven't watched it in a few years on FOX, but do buy the DVDs and bought the movie DVD. It's just not as good as it was, and this is the case for almost every show. I suspect the 25th season will be the last and then the show will end up on classic tv stations (I predict there will be a huge demand for the show.

I am also a Flintstones fan and own the DVDs but I don't think the revival will be successful.

I have heard the Flintstones revival is dead, McFarland is too busy these days.

May The Flintstone revival stay dead.