Simpsons Showrunner Unveils Plans for Series Finale Ahead of Its 800th Episode

A world without The Simpsons — is that even possible? Not if the people behind the show can help it.

Matt Selman, a writer and producer of the animated series for over 29 years, sees no end in sight for the sitcom, even with the show's 800th episode, from its 37th season, ready to watch. The landmark achievement, titled "Irrational Treasure," airs on Fox on Sunday, February 15.

"We did an episode about a year and a half ago that was like a parody of the series finale," Selman told The Wrap. "We jammed every possible series finale concept into one show, so that was sort of my way of saying we're never going to do a series finale."

Matt is referring to episode 769 of the show, "Bart's Birthday". In the episode, former Simpsons writer Conan O'Brien hosts a parody finale for the show, generated by the AI machine HackGPT. After 36 years as a 10-year-old, Bart Simpson finally turns 11. Bart sees every TV ending cliché in the book — moving away, new jobs, births, deaths, marriages, and beyond. In the end, he rejects it all for the same floating timeline The Simpsons had always utilized.

"We did a series finale in the middle of the show that made fun of all the ideas of wrapping everything up or ending."

The Simpsons, as of February 2026, holds the titles of America's longest-running animated series, longest-running comedy series, and longest-running scripted series. So, when is enough enough? According to Selman's interview with the New York Post,there will never be enough Simpsons.

“The show isn’t meant to end,” he continued. “To do a sappy crappo series finale, like most other shows do, would be so lame. So we just did one that was like over the top.”

So what would happen if the show had to end? Well, Matt has a plan.

"If the show ever did end, there's no finale — it would just be a regular episode that has the family in it. Probably a little Easter egg here and there, but no 'I'm going to miss this place,'" he told The Wrap. "The show isn't supposed to change. The characters reset every week. It's like Groundhog Day, but they don't know it — and they don't die that much."