Matt Selman addressed the future of The Simpsons as the landmark animated series continues its historic run. The longtime showrunner explained why the series would not close with a traditional farewell episode, even if it eventually comes to an end.
Matt Selman explains The Simpsons will ‘never’ have a series finale
The Simpsons showrunner Matt Selman said the series will “never” air a traditional finale, even if it ends.
“We did an episode about a year-and-a-half ago that was like a parody of the series finale. We jammed every possible series finale concept into one show, so that was sort of my way of saying we’re never going to do a series finale,” Selman told TheWrap. He added, “We did a series finale in the middle of the show that made fun of all the ideas of wrapping everything up or ending.”
Selman said that if the show were to conclude, it would not feature a farewell storyline. “If the show ever did end, there’s no finale, it would just be a regular episode that has the family in it. Probably a little Easter egg here and there, but no ‘I’m going to miss this place.’”
He also explained the show’s structure, stating, “The show isn’t supposed to change. The characters reset every week. It’s like Groundhog Day but they don’t know it — and they don’t die that much.”
Season 37, Episode 14, titled “Irrational Treasure,” marked the show’s 800th episode on Fox. The series debuted as part of The Tracey Ullman Show in December 1989. It continues to follow Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson.
“We just want to make every separate episode its own amazing little mini movie that stands on its own and is original from the other 799,” Selman said. “It’s a hard challenge, but it’s a really fun challenge, that quest for originality.”
Selman joined the show in 1997 and became an executive producer in 2005. He later became co-showrunner in 2021 and sole showrunner in 2024. He has won six Emmys. “We never try to predict anything,” Selman said. “We just study history, we study humanity, we study the past, we study culture.”
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.net.
