# Why is The Simpsons still on the air? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631 "2014-05-17T09:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/21 "2014-05-17T16:12:49Z")
You could damn his oily hide. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/22 "2014-05-17T17:30:59Z")
I would suggest **The Simpsons** has always been geared to generating money rather than to providing amusement — through various avenues; and that it cynically helps social control by co-opting pseudo-anarchic rebellion to authoritatively approved shoulder-shrugging acceptance of the system; therefore it has value to FOX beyond income. Still, it is occasionally amusing, and since the introduction of HD the landscapes are works of art. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/23 "2014-05-17T17:59:20Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Also not being sarcastic but it’s still making them money, clearly. On a night that’s typically a ratings dead zone, why would they drop something that works for something that might not? > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Why shouldn’t they? As long as people keep watching it—and I, for one, do. It’s long past its “golden age,” but it’s still recognizably the same show and worth watching more often than not, IMHO. You can’t dismiss the longevity of this show as if it’s just typical television. There have been literally hundreds of shows that have been cancelled since _The Simpsons_ began. I’m sure dozens of them had better ratings or were more profitable when they got the ax because the network figured it could be doing better. So there’s something unusual here. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/24 "2014-05-17T18:53:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Assuming that the network execs are behaving rationally (admittedly, a rather large assumption for Fox) I’m not sure that it’s a large assumption. Fox executives often get lambasted on the internet for cancelling smart, funny, off-beat shows like The Tick, but too many critics seem to equate “Shows I Like” with “Profitable Shows.” I thought The Tick was great, and Fox has cancelled other shows that i liked, but in most cases it was because the shows didn’t rate as well as their inferior stablemates, and were therefore less profitable for the network. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/25 "2014-05-17T19:53:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Assuming that the network execs are behaving rationally (admittedly, a rather large assumption for Fox), a show will only get canceled when it’s either negative profit, or the least profitable show on the network and they have something lined up that they think will do better. _The Simpsons_ may not be nearly as profitable as it once was, but it’s still far from the least profitable. But this makes it sound like renewal is the norm, which it isn’t. Most shows get cancelled. A show doesn’t have to be on the least profitable list to be cancelled; it just has to not be on the most profitable list. It can’t just be that animated series are cheaper to make so they’re more profitable. Look at how many animated series have come and gone in the last twenty-five years. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/26 "2014-05-17T20:13:41Z")
Shows are usually cancelled for one reason: poor ratings. Fox is happy with **The Simpsons** ratings, so they don’t cancel. And these days successful shows go off the air because actors are signed for seven years and to re-sign them for additional years is expensive. In addition, the actors grow tired of the work schedule and want to move into something that pays better but also gives them a chance to do something different. Animated shows, however, pay their cast far less. Assuming the $3000K figure is true for the Simpsons cast, it means the actors were getting just under $2 million in salary per episode. Hugh Laurie probably made more than that by himself toward the end of **House**. Further, doing voices is easy work: only a few weeks a year (if that) standing in front of a mic and reading your lines. The rest of the time, you can take any other work you like. So the actors don’t have any reason to quit. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/27 "2014-05-17T20:41:31Z")
Plus you can replace them and nobody can tell the dee-diddly-difference. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/28 "2014-05-17T21:07:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s been on the air for twenty-five years now - no other series has ever gone past twenty years. Not even close to true. Even restricting it to American scripted fiction, with recurring characters\*, several soap operas have run for over 50 years, Sesame Street has been going for 44 years, Mister Rogers ran for over 30, and Power Rangers is still going after 21 years. Just for a few examples. And, of course, there’s foreign examples, like Coronation Street (60+) and Doraemon (30). - The top are mostly news, anthology, sports, or gameshows. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/29 "2014-05-17T21:16:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Plus you can replace them and nobody can tell the dee-diddly-difference. We could speculate on whether the show could or should keep going without one of the main six voice actors if one of them should quit or die, and I think I vaguely recall a thread where we did just that; but _The Simpsons_ has never had to face that issue, and at this point, I suspect that if one of the main cast were unable to continue, it would give them a reason to end the show. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/30 "2014-05-17T21:26:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You can’t dismiss the longevity of this show as if it’s just typical television. There have been literally hundreds of shows that have been cancelled since _The Simpsons_ began. **I’m sure dozens of them had better ratings or were more profitable when they got the ax because the network figured it could be doing better. So there’s something unusual here.** What are you basing that on? Typically the networks will run a profitable show into the ground if they can. What happens more often is the cast or creators want to do something different. The only time I’ve heard of successful shows being pulled by a network was when (I think) CBS decided they wanted to change their line-up from rural humor to more sophisticated, urban shows, and dumped Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies and such, even though the shows were doing well. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/31 "2014-05-17T21:36:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m not being sarcastic. I’m asking seriously why Fox keeps renewing this particular series year after year. It’s been on the air for twenty-five years now - no other series has ever gone past twenty years. > Is it just a low-cost series to produce so it justifies its place in the line-up even if it doesn’t get top ratings anymore? Does Fox get a cut of the merchandising and dvd sales? Is there a prestige thing about having the longest-running series on the air? Is Rupert Murdoch a big fan? You actually posted the answer to your own question (I underlined it, above). This _Guardian_ article is dated 2010, but other Internet snippets seem to support the idea that it’s the merchandising and licensing deals that make The Simpsons worth keeping on the air, ratings be damned: > [@](#): > > The Matt Groening series was placed first in the survey of 450 global licensing experts from leading media companies with 31% of votes, followed by long-running US children’s show Sesame Street with 26%. > **[The Simpsons is top TV brand of all time, says survey](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/sep/22/the-simpsons-merchandising)** > > Matt Groening series has earned more than $8bn from DVDs, videos and merchandising such as T-shirts, games and toys. By Tara Conlan ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/32 "2014-05-17T21:38:24Z")
Has the main cast’s salaries gone down over time? I can’t imaigne they’re demanding or making what they were at their peak. Since ratings have gone down over time and it’s still easy money I’d expect they negotiated and accepted much less than they were once making. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/33 "2014-05-17T21:38:51Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > _Bart Gets an F_ from 1990 got 33.6 million viewers. > > The April 28th episode, _What to Expect When Bart’s Expecting_, got 3.4 million viewers. > > The decline in ratings is drastic, to say the least. OTOH, that episode was the 2nd highest rated show on Fox that night. (_Family Guy_ was first.) Nothing new about that; back in 1997, King of the Hill would get better ratings than The Simpsons on a regular basis. My theory is, this was because The Simpsons was on against 3rd Rock from the Sun, while KOTH was against the crashing-and-burning Boston Common, and there was nothing else for 3RftS viewers to watch (ABC and CBS had hour-long shows from 8 to 9). > [@AK84](#): > > No underlying arc. Its animation so actors do not age. On screen at least. People are still watching it. > [@epbrown01](#): > > Also not being sarcastic but it’s still making them money, clearly. On a night that’s typically a ratings dead zone, why would they drop something that works for something that might not? Both of these are valid reasons. One problem with “family sitcoms” is, eventually the “cute kids” grow up (Wally and Beaver on _Leave it to Beaver_; pretty much everybody on _The Brady Bunch_; Tommy and Nicholas on _Eight is Enough_; Kelly and Bud on _Married…with Children_), and the show’s dynamic changes. However, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are more or less the same characters in 2014 that they were in 1990. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Plus you can replace them and nobody can tell the dee-diddly-difference. Not as true as you think - besides, the decision not to replace Marcia Wallace as Mrs. Krabappel makes it clear that if any of the six stars dies, the show ends pretty much then and there. Even if they wanted to replace the actors, the three male stars (Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer) each do so many voices that it would be almost impossible to replace any of them without getting rid of too many characters. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/34 "2014-05-17T22:24:58Z")
_“Who knows what great adventures they’ll have between now and the time the show becomes unprofitable?”_ > [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Even restricting it to American scripted fiction, with recurring characters\*, several soap operas have run for over 50 years, Sesame Street has been going for 44 years, Mister Rogers ran for over 30, and Power Rangers is still going after 21 years. Just for a few examples. > > And, of course, there’s foreign examples, like Coronation Street (60+) and Doraemon (30). …or Meet the Press (67 years & counting.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/35 "2014-05-17T22:47:41Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > …or Meet the Press (67 years & counting.) I grant you recurring characters, but scripted fiction?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/36 "2014-05-17T23:15:58Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I grant you recurring characters, but scripted fiction?:dubious: - Now\* who’s being naive? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/37 "2014-05-17T23:25:41Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Not even close to true. > > Even restricting it to American scripted fiction, with recurring characters\*, several soap operas have run for over 50 years, Sesame Street has been going for 44 years, Mister Rogers ran for over 30, and Power Rangers is still going after 21 years. Just for a few examples. > > And, of course, there’s foreign examples, like Coronation Street (60+) and Doraemon (30). > > - The top are mostly news, anthology, sports, or gameshows. I think most people understood I am talking about primetime scripted fictional series running on broadcast networks in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/38 "2014-05-17T23:33:12Z")
_The Simpsons Movie_ grossed $527 million on a $75 million budget in '07. That’d make me think twice about scrapping it. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/39 "2014-05-18T01:33:45Z")
I have lots of new episodes on my DVr. Just watched one where the Comic Book Guy gets married. It was legitimately funny. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631/40 "2014-05-18T01:41:43Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > _The Simpsons Movie_ grossed $527 million on a $75 million budget in '07. > > That’d make me think twice about scrapping it. Also makes you wonder why they’re not making more features. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-on-the-air/688631.md?page=3)