Season Review: The Simpsons Season 35
As I’m thinking about the 35th season of The Simpsons, one can’t help but ponder the future for the longest-running sitcom in primetime. Executive producer Matt Selman is already screaming about AI on a season that was somewhat disrupted as a result of last year’s writers strike, and fans have started to notice the likes of Harry Shearer and Julie Kavner begin to fade. Old-school fans hate the fact that the likes of Hank Azaria or Harry Shearer gets to continue on as voices for PoC characters, while new fans grapple with a constant barrage of prediction on a seemingly casual basis.
The best thing this show has done in the last couple of seasons, is put Matt Selman and Michael Price front-and-center in running the show. The proof is in the pudding and it started with the show’s 33rd season that we saw this creative turn-around that has seen the long-running FOX sitcom absolutely improve over time. If there was ever a season that showed growth, The Simpsons’ 35th season is it. To kick things off, the first couple of episodes of the season saw the family from Evergreen Terrace not really deliver until right around December-ish. Before then we had to deal with a weak-ass October, a terribad Treehouse, and other lackluster efforts.
We saw some signs of life from episodes like “A Mid-Childhood Night’s Dream”, “Iron Marge” and “Murder She Boat” as the year came to a close. From there, the strike took its toll and if we were lucky we would get maybe one-to-two episodes a month from The Simpsons to kick off 2024, but the quality was still very much picking up from where the show left off by the end of 2023. “Clan of the Cave Mom” has Emmy written all over it, with other strong efforts like “Lisa Gets An F1” and “Night of the Living Wage” doing what this show used to do so well in its heyday, get people talking. Whether it was the Mario Kart homage or talks of strikes in the series itself, and a long-lost character leaving us, The Simpsons started becoming water-cooler conversation again well into May complete with a rather strong short for Disney+.
The 36th season of The Simpsons is slated for premiere later this fall and Matt Selman’s already doing press rounds with the likes of CNN and talking about it. But, beyond that, there hasn’t been any talk of FOX renewing this series for another season. If we continue to get some of the aforementioned strong efforts listed, this show can continue to go. But, how will the mainstay like The Simpsons continue to evolve? Only one way to find out.
