The Simpsons boss Al Jean has shot down the suggestion the show will soon be coming to an end, following recent comments from music composer Danny Elfman.
Danny – the man behind the iconic Simpsons theme tune – was recently asked by Joe whether he thought the show’s glory days were over, to which he suggested the upcoming series might well be its last.
“From what I’ve heard, it is coming to an end,” Danny said. “So, that argument will also come to an end. I don’t know for a fact, but I’ve heard that it will be in its last year.”
Fortunately for the dozens of people still enjoying The Simpsons’ new episodes, it sounds like there might be some life in the 30-year-old animated sitcom yet.
Showrunner Al Jean told Metro: “No disrespect to Mr. Elfman but we are producing season 32 starting next year and have no plans to end after that.”
Al also shared a link to a news story reporting Danny Elfman’s comments on his Twitter page, noting: “We are all thankful the following article is NOT TRUE.”
Next month, The Simpsons will celebrate 30 years since its first episode – the festive Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire – debuted, with Danny admitting he never anticipated the show would achieve even a fraction of the success that it has.
He told Joe: “All I can say is that I’m so flabbergasted and amazed that it has lasted as long as it did.
“So, you have to realise, when I scored The Simpsons, I wrote this crazy piece of music, and I expected no-one would hear it, because I really did not think the show had a chance in hell.”
The Simpsons’ classic episodes could well be about to land a whole new generation of fans thanks to it debuting on the streaming service Disney+, which arrives in the UK in March 2020.
Fans recently complained that the aspect ratio of the Simpsons episodes available to stream meant that certain visual gags had not been left intact, but Disney has since insisted that this is to be corrected.