Latest news with #MattSelman
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marge lives! Here are 3 other ‘Simpsons' characters that returned from the grave — and 3 who stayed dead
You can't keep a good Simpsons matriarch down... or up in heaven for that matter. The Simpsons recently ended its 36th season on Fox with a flash-forward episode revealing that Marge Simpson (voiced by Julie Kavner) has gone to her great reward — in this case an afterlife where she's married to Ringo Starr. Far from being thrilled for her eternal soul, fans freaked out about Marge's future fate. And their fury forced executive producer, Matt Selman, to go on the record reminding everyone that death is an elastic concept in the show's animated universe. More from Gold Derby Fast cars vs. killer dolls: 'F1,' 'M3GAN 2.0' gear up for box-office showdown 'Squid Game' Season 3: Reviews warn of a divisive WTF sprint to the finish line "The Simpsons doesn't even have canon," Selman told Variety on Thursday. "Since the The Simpsons future episodes are all speculative fantasies, they're all different every time. Marge will probably never be dead ever again. The only place Marge is dead is in one future episode that aired six weeks ago." As longtime viewers know, Springfield is regularly littered in corpses after every "Treehouse of Horror" installment, only to see those characters walking around again in non-zombie form immediately afterwards. And like Selman said, trips to the future don't come with permanent death sentences. Even in the present day, some characters have seemingly shuffled off their mortal coil only to return without missing a beat. But there have also been several instances where Springfield's Grim Reaper has refused to allow characters a return trip. Here are three Simpsons that have famously stayed dead — and three that have followed in Marge's sainted footsteps back to the land of the living. Larry Dalrymple Nearly one year before Marge's supposed death, the series really did kill off Moe's Tavern regular Larry the Barfly. And he died like he lived — quietly over a pint of beer. "We really wanted to use Larry's death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn't take anyone for granted,' co-executive producer Tim Long told Variety after the episode aired. Maude Flanders Ned's better half was knocked over a Springfield Speedway railing by a T-shirt cannon way back in Season 11. And even though she's popped back up in the frame from time to time in the decades since, her sudden passing has stayed canon. Edna Krabappel Springfield Elementary's best teacher was retired from the cast following the 2013 death of Marcia Wallace, who won an Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Emmy award alongside five of her costars in 1992. The Season 32 episode "Diary Queen" officially closed the book on the character, using archival recordings featuring Wallace to craft her exit. That's par for the course for how the creative team has handled real-life passings. Two of Phil Hartman's notable characters — Z-list actor Troy McClure and fly-by-night lawyer Lionel Hutz — were benched after his 1998 death. Dr. Nick Riviera Despite being apparently crushed to a pulp during the course of The Simpsons Movie, the not-at-all-reputable doctor is still selling his snake oil treatments to Springfield residents. He does seem to know the cure for death, though... Fat Tony The Joe Mantegna-voiced mob boss suffered a heart attack in Season 22's "Donnie Fatso," seemingly leaving the town free of crime. But his place was quickly taken by his in-shape cousin "Fit Tony," also voiced by the Criminal Minds star. In the years since, though, Fit Tony lost all that muscle tone and morphed back into Fat Tony as if the latter never left. Moe Szyslak Following a close encounter with Lady Gaga in the Season 23 finale "Lisa Goes Gaga," the surly bartender ends up beneath the wheels of a train. But the lights are back on again at Moe's in Season 24, indicating that any fatal injuries he sustained were just mere flesh wounds. Best of Gold Derby Cristin Milioti, Amanda Seyfried, Michelle Williams, and the best of our Emmy Limited Series/Movie Actress interviews Paul Giamatti, Stephen Graham, Cooper Koch, and the best of our Emmy Limited Series/Movie Actor interviews Lee Jung-jae, Adam Scott, Noah Wyle, and the best of our Emmy Drama Actor interviews Click here to read the full article.
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The Simpsons' producer clarifies Marge's death
The Simpsons executive producer Matt Selman addressed fan concerns about Marge Simpson 's apparent Death in the show's 36th season finale. Selman clarified that Marge's Death is not considered canon, stating that the show has no consistent canon due to numerous contradictory flash-forwards. The episode, set 35 years in the future, depicted Homer at Marge's grave, but Marge later appeared in a pre-recorded message and then in heaven. Selman suggested that media outlets created misleading headlines about Marge's Death to generate traffic, despite knowing it was not a permanent plot point. The long-running animated series has been renewed for four more seasons, ensuring it will surpass 800 episodes.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Simpsons makes clear if Marge Simpson survived show's 36th season finale
Fans of Marge Simpson can breathe easier Thursday. Amid rampant speculation that the matriarch of the iconic animated series was killed off amid the show's 36th season finale, a producer on the long-running animated series clarified she's alive and well. In response to murmurs that data points in the show's 790-episode canon indicated that Marge had died, executive producer Matt Selman told Variety that Springfield's most famous mom is alive and well. 'There is no canon - the Simpsons' doesn't even have canon!' Selman told the outlet. Selman said that the freeform nature of the long-running series, which began as skits on The Tracey Ullman Show in the late 1980s, can lend at times to misguided speculation. 'Obviously since The Simpsons future episodes are all speculative fantasies, they're all different every time,' Selman said. 'Marge will probably never be dead ever again. 'The only place Marge is dead is in one future episode that aired six weeks ago.' The outlet noted that over the show's expansive history, very few characters have had storyline deaths that were clearly intended as permanent; among them were Maude Flanders and Edna Krabappel. The character of Krabappel, Bart's teacher at school, was retired after the beloved voice actor who played the role, Marcia Wallace, died of cancer at the age of 70 in October of 2013. Marge's fate was questioned by fans following the airing of this past season's finale on May 18, titled Estranger Things. In the storyline of the episode, which was penned by Tim Long, siblings Bart and Lisa characters stopped watching The Itchy & Scratchy Show with one another. This led them to become distant and grow apart, and the rift between the two expanded with the (fictional passing of their mother) Marge. In a future sequence, Lisa was seen as the commissioner of the National Basketball Association, while Bart was the proprietor of a sketchy retirement community that his father Homer resided at. In the season 36 finale, Marge struck up a heavenly romance with Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who is also thankfully alive and well They are still not speaking with one another at a time Lisa returns to Springfield to deliver a speech to the children at the elementary school she formerly attended. Lisa subsequently discovered a clip Marge recorded prior to her fictional death - telling her kids she wanted them to look after each other - which led to an emotional reconciliation between siblings. Marge observed all of the happenings from heaven, where she had struck up a romance with Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who is also thankfully alive and well.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Fans Are More Intense Than Ever': Matt Groening, David Silverman and Matt Selman on ‘The Simpsons' Enduring Appeal
Nearly four decades after a spiky-haired boy first declared, 'Don't have a cow, man,' 'The Simpsons' remains one of television's best-loved and influential institutions. At this year's Annecy Animation Festival, the series' incredible run, which will extend beyond 40 seasons after a recent re-order, was celebrated with some of its key figures in attendance. 'The fans are as intense as ever. In fact, more intense,' series creator Matt Groening told Variety during a sit-down interview at the French festival. 'When we were here last, we got a pretty great response. But this time, it's completely nuts.' More from Variety 'No Soy Sauce!': Anthony Bourdain's 'Get Jiro' Introduces Future Where Chefs Have the Most Power - and a Brand New Catchphrase Sébastien Laudenbach's 'Viva Carmen' Reimagines Bizet's Opera for Contemporary Young Audiences 'Anime is Niche No More': Crunchyroll EVP Mitch Berger Teases 2025 Slate at Annecy 'We were here in 2008 and 2010, and it's even bigger now,' agreed executive producer David Silverman. 'It was really big back then, so it's pretty amazing. But it's great. The fans are really great.' Showrunner Matt Selman, clearly amused by the attention, added, 'When you walk around with David Silverman, he gets recognized. David is a celebrity here.' That enthusiasm reflects a legacy few, if any, shows have achieved. Since its debut in 1989, 'The Simpsons' has never taken a hiatus. It's a production rhythm that Groening, Silverman and Selman have grown used to, but never take for granted. 'We've been on the air since 1989,' Groening explained. 'The show goes year-round. The fact that we're here in France to celebrate the show means we're going to be a week behind.' For decades, 'The Simpsons' has enjoyed a level of cultural saturation around the world that initially surprised, and still does to a degree, the show's bosses. 'From my own experience, [the show's early international popularity] was great, but we were working so hard we could barely pay attention to it,' said Silverman. 'We were like, 'Oh, that's great, but we have a deadline.' It took a few years before I could get my head above the drawing table to notice, 'Oh my gosh, we're having an effect.'' With more than 750 episodes, a feature film, comics, parade balloons and innumerable catchphrases and memes embedded in the pop-culture lexicon, 'The Simpsons'' staying power defies modern TV logic. Streaming has only amplified its impact. 'Being on Disney+ has been somewhat rejuvenating for us,' Selman said. 'Not that we realized we needed rejuvenation, but we appreciate it.' Instead of catching a random rerun on broadcast TV or waiting for DVDs, fans can now dive into decades' worth of content in one click. 'Now instead of the kids watching it on local TV in the afternoon, they can just watch it all, all the time, all day, all forever,' Selman added. 'We really have that super connection to young people.' That connection with young people has always been there for the show, but it wasn't always easy for young fans to watch. When 'The Simpsons' first hit the air, it was prohibited in many homes by parents who were shocked at the show's more mature elements and frequent cartoon violence. 'One of the best things that ever happened in the course of the show was that some people forbade the show,' Groening recalled. 'It became this exotic, forbidden thing. Bart Simpson Underachiever T-shirts were once controversial and banned in schools. So when we did a Lisa Simpson Overachiever T-shirt, but we got in trouble for that because it said 'Damn I'm Good.'' Selman also pointed out that another advantage of being on Disney+ is that the platform occasionally allows for longer edits of episodes to stream after shorter versions have aired. It's never anything that significantly changes an episode, but it does offer a small degree of greater freedom when formatting a story. The latest three-series order of 'The Simpsons' includes just 17 episodes per season, but that doesn't mean the team will slow down. 'We used to do 22 a year. For the next four [seasons], we're doing 17 a year,' Selman explained. 'Fifteen that will premiere in America on Fox, and then two exclusives on Disney+. It's still a full-time job.' 'Work has a way of expanding to fill the time available,' Groening said. 'But if you know that you have four seasons to think about, it changes how you approach storytelling.' Groening, who is still heavily involved in Hulu's 'Futurama' reboot – another of his creations – joked about using his workload as a scheduling loophole. 'The great thing about having more than one show to work on is I can tell the people at 'Futurama' I'm working on 'The Simpsons,' and the people at 'The Simpsons' that I'm working on 'Futurama'.' 'The Simpsons' has lived through seismic shifts in distribution, merchandising and marketing, but one thing that has remained constant and helped the series survive such major changes is that its storytelling has never been explicitly limited to TV. The series has long transcended the screen through music, games and even lunchboxes. 'It is storytelling,' said Groening. 'Even merchandise—even a lunch box—we try to tell a little story, include a little joke.' 'We try to avoid what's called in the biz a 'label slap,'' he added. 'We actually try to have jokes on everything.' Silverman chimed in, 'Even comment on what we're doing, you know, like our characters being on a lunch box – it's sort of making some observation about being on a lunch box.' Selman acknowledged a delicate balance between commercialization and satire. ''The Simpsons' was always sort of able to have its cake and eat it too, in terms of selling a lot of merchandise but also satirizing the phenomenon of over-merchandising. It was like, 'Look, can you believe we're doing this?'' This self-awareness is nothing new. 'Maybe the first or second episode of 'The Simpsons,' we showed Krusty Flakes on the kitchen table,' said Groening. 'The slogan on the box was 'Because only sugar has more sugar.'' The team later tried to develop a healthier real-world cereal, but, according to Groening, 'There was not a single cereal company in America that would put it out.' Selman believes it could be possible for 'The Simpsons' to expand beyond the screen again, perhaps musically. 'We should make our actors sing another album. Not from the show. Separate songs,' he said. 'Like 'The Simpsons Sing the Blues.'' Even now, the creative team is focused on the future and on cultivating the next generation of artists. 'Over the years we've had various outside animators do the so-called couch gag,' Groening said. 'That's been amazing.' He recently suggested to Selman that they explore even more animator collaborations, though the compressed runtimes of modern episodes often make those gags harder to fit. 'I wish we could do an original couch gag for every episode,' Selman said. 'But money is a little tighter than it used to be… and you can't cut a story short to add a couch gag,' he lamented, stressing that cutting even seconds off an episode can often cause a jarring tonal shift. The editing process remains one of the show's most painstaking challenges. 'If a show is cut really tight and the jokes don't breathe, the scenes seem too fast-paced,' Selman said. 'None of it really seems as funny or as engaging.' Groening added, 'This is the kind of thing we agonize over.' Even after decades on the air, the modern-day legends behind 'The Simpsons' aren't resting on legacy alone. They're tweaking, adapting, evolving and always laughing. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Malay Mail
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
From AI parodies to environmental disasters, ‘The Simpsons' keeps evolving — just don't expect political jokes
ANNECY, June 14 — Like many American families struggling for unity in the polarised United States, The Simpsons have decided to avoid political jokes, the creator of the series Matt Groening told AFP. Despite the potential for storylines and humour, Groening ruled out venturing into America's toxic politics for laughs. 'We don't do political humour because political humour is very limited. It dates very quickly,' he said during an interview at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in the French Alps. A Simpsons season takes at least six to nine months to produce, raising the risk of gags turning stale, Groening explained. The show — broadcast on US network Fox TV and on Disney Plus, which now owns the series — has sometimes appeared to predict real events, such as Donald Trump's election, which was first referenced in an episode in 2000. It has also featured parodies in the past of a host of politicians from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger. 'We just have to stay true to our characters, their spirit and their relationships. And when they face the sadness of the world, people feel briefly connected to them,' writer-producer Matt Selman told AFP. Despite Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie remaining frozen in time since their debut in 1989, the writers have ensured the story lines move with the times. A recent episode parodied artificial intelligence when a chatbot was asked to write the finale. 'In the plot of that episode, AI was given the job of writing the perfect finale. And of course, it just regurgitated and spat out all the other finales from all the other shows in very unoriginal and silly ways that of course would be terrible,' said Selman. 'It was our attempt to push back at AI, push back at ever ending the show.' The natural environment remains a rich source of inspiration, including in The Simpsons Movie in 2007 which featured a disaster caused by Homer that leads to Springfield being sealed under a giant dome. 'The environment's not going to get cleaned up anytime soon,' Groening added. The Simpsons Movie grossed US$536.4 million worldwide, but the creators ruled out making a sequel — for the moment. (Left to right): Cartoonist and creator of the TV series 'The Simpsons' Matt Groening, screenwriter Matt Selman and producer and director David Silverman pose during a photo session on the sidelines of the 49th Annecy International Film Festival in Annecy on June 11, 2025. — AFP pic 'We are still recovering from the first movie,' joked Groening. 'And the sad truth is we don't have enough time to do both the show and the movie unless we decide we want to work really, really hard.' The Simpsons has been translated into 26 languages and broadcast in around 100 countries. The 800th episode is set to air in early 2026. — AFP
