The Simpsons originally aired on December 17th in 1989 and has focused entirely on the core cast members of the family for all 36 seasons so far.
However, the season 36 finale has stirred a fair amount of controversy. Whilst the show has never shied away from killing off side-characters such as Maude Flanders, this episode went for the main family.
In an episode set in the future, we discover that Marge Simpson dies before Homer. The show thankfully doesn’t make a joke of this, as it has done in the past with character deaths, but allows the event to feel impactful. Whilst the show has flashed forward countless times and even featured deaths of core characters before in “what if’s” or “Halloween specials”, this is the first time The Simpsons has offered a canonical death to a core family member.
In the last few years, The Simpsons has begun to get more and more daring with its episodes and its writers have grown comfortable doing episodes that handle more serious content.
Despite the latest episode, Marge isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The show has been renewed until season 40, so at least 4 more seasons The Simpsons will return to it’s usual time period where Bart is always 10, Lisa is always 8, and Homer is still an idiot.
The Simpsons can be streamed on Disney+.
