The Simpsons Season 36's Midseason Hiatus Could Signal The End Of An Era For TV's Favorite Family

Although The Simpsons season 36 is faring well with critics, its lengthy mid-season hiatus does not seem to bode well for the show’s future. The Simpsons season 37’s renewal has not yet been announced, but fears of the show’s sudden cancelation seem to be a little unreasonable. As of January 2025, The Simpsons is the longest-running animated show and the longest-running sitcom in US television history, as well as the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show ever. The Simpsons is a cultural institution, which makes it feel almost untouchable.

That said, all good things come to an end and there is a reason The Simpsons season 36’s showrunner was asked about its finale in a recent interview with The New York Post. The Simpsons will eventually come to an end, and season 36’s premiere, “Bart’s Birthday,” even acknowledged this with a self-aware “Series finale.” Ostensibly written by the AI program “Hack GPT,” this in-universe ending was a schmaltzy, sentimental affair that hit on all the classic sitcom finale tropes.

The Simpsons Season 36 Is One Of The Longest Breaks In The Show’s History

The Simpsons Season 36 Is Off The Air From Late December To Late March

While “Bart’s Birthday” might have proven that the creators of The Simpsons can still joke about the show’s uncertain future, season 36’s strange release schedule proves that all may not remain rosy in Springfield’s future. The Simpsons season 36’s mid-season hiatus is the longest in the show’s 36-year history and the second-longest gap between two episodes in the same season ever. Season 36, episode 13, “Bottle Episode,” aired on December 29, 2024, while episode 14, “The Flandshees of Innersimpson,” will air on March 30.

That amounts to a 91-day gap between episodes, the second-longest in the show’s history. The only longer gap came between season 3, episode 23, “Bart’s Friend Falls In Love,” which aired on May 7, 1992, and episode 24, ”Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes,” which aired on August 27 the same year. This 111-day gap is admittedly larger, but it is worth noting that the gap occurred between the penultimate episode and the series finale. Thus, ”Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes” aired nearer to the season 4 premiere, whereas season 36’s hiatus is markedly different.

The Simpsons season 36 features the show’s usual mid-season hiatus, but has dragged this typical break out longer than ever before.

”Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes” may have been pulled up to help promote Fox’s new sitcom Martin, and its appearance in August meant that it was an anomaly on the TV schedule. In contrast, The Simpsons season 36 features the show’s usual mid-season hiatus, but has dragged this typical break out longer than ever before. This resulted in a 12-week hiatus that was almost equaled by 10 weeks in season 29 and eight weeks in season 25 but never outdone. The mid-season hiatus lasted only 6 weeks in season 34, before going up again to 8 in season 35.

Why The Simpsons Season 36’s Long Hiatus Is Worrying

The Simpsons Season 36 Has Spent An Almost Unprecedented Amount Of Time Off The Air

Although The Simpsons season 36’s ratings peaked with its two Treehouse of Horror specials, the show’s future still seems uncertain due to this long hiatus. While there were always weird gaps in the show’s release schedule, like season 11, where there were two-week gaps between some outings, taking three months off the air mid-season is still strange. To make matters worse, season 35 was already the shortest season of The Simpsons since the series began with the 13-episode season 1 back in 1989.

The Simpsons season 35’s lower number of episodes seemed like it could have been linked to the industry strikes of 2023, but season 36 will also see only 18 new episodes air on Fox. There are four more episodes, but these are Disney+ exclusives that air only on the streaming service. While The Simpsons season 36’s saddest story came in an episode that aired around Christmastime, the show’s sweeter two-part Christmas special “Oh C’mon All Ye Faithful” could only be viewed by Disney+ subscribers.

The Simpsons Season 36 Is Already Shorter Than Earlier Seasons Due To Disney+

Fox Order 18 Episodes Of The Simpsons While Disney Ordered 4

There are only 18 episodes in The Simpsons season 36 outside of the Disney+ exclusives, and this could be the cause of the show’s unusually long hiatus. This may not bode well for the future of the series, particularly when the ratings of The Simpsons have been steadily declining for years now. While 2019’s season 31 boasted an average viewership of approximately 3 million, that was down to just under 2 million by 2024’s season 35. AlthoughThe Simpsons season 36’s darker stories might be impressing critics, they have not yet reversed this viewership trend.

The three most successful episodes of season 36 are episode 5, “Treehouse of Horror XXXV,” episode 7, “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes,” and “Bottle Episode.” These episodes earned 3.18, 2.69, and 3.31 million viewers respectively, proving that The Simpsons still can wrangle a solid audience share from time to time, especially when their aird ates or storylines align with a major holiday. However, the season’s ordinary episodes tell a different story.

The Simpsons Could Transition To Disney+ In Years To Come

The Show’s Ratings Have Steadily Declined Over The Years

Season 36, episode 2, “The Yellow Lotus,” and episode 6, “Women in Shorts,” earned a paltry viewership of only 0.89 and 0.83 respectively. Comparing an average episode with one released near a major holiday, it is easy to see why Disney+ chose to release a two-part The Simpsons Christmas special as their first feature-length exclusive release from the series. The Simpsons performs well when the long-running show can bring back nostalgic viewers at Christmas and Halloween, but not on an average Sunday night.

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that The Simpsons will eventually retire to Disney+.

Looking at the lengthy hiatus of The Simpsons season 36 and the fact that this gap was caused in part by the outing’s Disney+ exclusive episodes, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that The Simpsons will eventually retire to Disney+. The show’s transition to the service has already technically begun, and this wouldn’t amount to an outright cancelation until Disney+ stops producing new episodes. As such, the news would be less likely to provoke shocked responses.

While The Simpsons has a huge fan base, there is likely a reason that Fox accepted an 18-episode season 36 in 2024. The future of the show is impossible to predict, but its dwindling ratings, online exclusive specials, and now the long hiatus in the middle of season 36 all point in one direction. The Simpsons may finally be on its way off TV screens, although the show could take a while to make the jump online.

Source: The New York Post