With its 33rd season currently on the air, “The Simpsons” is the longest-running prime-time series in American history.
But showrunner Al Jean is giving some thought as to how the iconic Fox sitcom should end.
In an interview with Radio Times on Sunday, Jean — who has been working on the animated show since its inception 32 years ago — stated: “There would be an ending where they [the Simpsons] would be going back to the Christmas pageant from the first episode, so that the whole series was a continuous loop — that’s how I would end it.”
The first episode of “The Simpsons” — which aired on Dec. 17, 1989 — featured a pageant held at Springfield Elementary School. The sitcom has been running ever since and is the only prime-time series to air new episodes in five different decades.
However, fans shouldn’t be too concerned about the show ending anytime soon, with Jean telling Radio Times that studio bosses are still happy with how the program is playing out.
“To be honest … especially as we’re doing really well on Disney+ in the US and the UK and other countries in the Americas, I don’t see anybody going, ‘Let’s wrap it up, or figure out how to get out of it’ at the moment,” Jean explained.
“I think we’re the No. 1 scripted show in the US, and with the new episodes as well.”
“The Simpsons” aired its 700th episode earlier this year, and Jean says he would be happy to keep the show going until it reaches 1,000 episodes — a feat which would not occur until 2033.
“I calculated that if we make it to 1000 episodes, that’s 12 more seasons … So I’ll just be saying, I’ll be very happy to be here in 12 seasons’ time … [but] it’s not just a hop, skip and a jump, it’s a little further than that,” he stated.
The show has become a pop culture mainstay, with viewers claiming episodes have eerily predicted everything from Sept. 11 to the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this year, fans of the Fox show claimed the show did it once again — by predicting Richard Branson’s rocket ride to space.
Eagle-eyed viewers noticed that a scene from a 2014 episode bore a startling resemblance to footage of the British billionaire inside his Virgin Galactic rocket during his trip back in July.
Fans also claimed show writers predicted the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in a 1996 episode titled “The Day the Violence Died.” In one scene from the show, characters are seen storming the government building with guns and bombs.
Meanwhile, a UK casino site is hiring someone to watch every episode of “The Simpsons” to see if “it can help to predict the future and see what 2022 will hold.”
Platin Casino says it will pay the person $7,000 to watch and analyze all episodes from the 33 seasons, along with the 2007 “Simpsons” spinoff movie — predicting it will take eight weeks to get through the 700 episodes.
During each episode, the professional will be asked to take notes on “standout storylines” to help the company’s “team of prediction experts” evaluate the “probability of each one happening” for real.
