It’s Officially The Start Of An Era For The Simpsons

Between the upcoming arrival of The Simpsons Movie 2 in 2027 and the original show’s gradual shift toward a streaming format, The Simpsons is heading into an exciting but unpredictable new era. Some of the best sitcoms of all time, like the iconic workplace comedy Cheers, never needed to change their format throughout their run. While Cheers, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory all lasted at least a decade, none of these shows substantially altered their central premise during these runs.

However, it’s a little harder for the most successful sitcom of all time to pull this off. As of 2026, The Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom in American TV history, the longest-running US scripted prime-time TV series ever, and the longest-running animated comedy of all time. These are just a few of the show’s many record-breaking achievements, but this longevity comes at a cost to the series. While The Big Bang Theory franchise can start a new era with an all-new streaming series, The Simpsons is still focusing on the same title characters as it was in 1989.

The unprecedented longevity of The Simpsons comes with unique challenges that even its oldest animated competitors, like Family Guy and South Park, haven’t had to face. The Simpsons waited a whopping 18 years to release the show’s first feature-length theatrical movie spinoff, 2007’s The Simpsons Movie, where South Park needed only two years to produce 1999’s South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut. Of course, when The Simpsons Movie did arrive, it was a record-smashing $536 million hit.

The Simpsons Movie 2’s Arrival Coincides With Its Shift To Streaming

While South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut earned an impressive $81 million upon its release, it’s clear that the two shows are in different leagues. This is something of an inevitability since, although The Simpsons has been accused of coasting and resting on its laurels for years by both critics and fans, the show’s sheer volume of output puts The Simpsons in a different league from almost every other sitcom, animated or otherwise.

The news that The Simpsons Movie 2 is due to be released in September 2027 is exciting for longtime fans, but this release also comes at an interesting time for the show’s brand more broadly. From season 2–34, The Simpsons released between 25 and 20 episodes per season, all of which aired on Fox. However, 2024’s season 35 featured only 18 episodes, four of which were Disney+ exclusive specials that never aired on traditional television.

2025’s season 36 kept this trend alive with another 14 normal episodes and four Disney+ exclusive specials. This release strategy isn’t unheard of, with Family Guy releasing its recent Halloween and Christmas specials as Hulu exclusives, while South Park has shifted to a streaming-focused release model since 2020. That said, between the gradual move to streaming and the release of the new movie, it is clear that The Simpsons is entering a new era, for better or worse.

The Next Era of The Simpsons Will Look Very Different (And That’s A Good Thing)

The family looking behind them in shock with a light pointed at them in The Simpsons Movie

It would be easy to decry The Simpsons’ gradual move to streaming as an unambiguously bad thing, since it means longtime fans of the series might miss new outings if they are not Disney+ subscribers. However, the quality of the show’s streaming output can’t be ignored in this analysis.

Some of the best episodes in seasons 35 and 36, such as the two-part Christmas special “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful” and the inspired Ripley spoof “Simpsley,” took creative risks that the show would be less likely to try on a conventional TV network. As such, as the arrival of The Simpsons Movie 2 grows closer, it is fair to say that the next era of The Simpsons could renew the show’s faltering creativity in its fourth decade.