The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean paid tribute to the animated series' late co-creator, Sam Simon, ahead of its milestone 700th episode airing on Fox on March 21.
Jean remembered Simon by posting a photo on Twitter that showed him standing at Simon's gravesite. He added the caption, "@TheSimpsons Tonight the 700th episode. So grateful to @canyonjim Matt Groening and the man who hired me @simonsam."
Simon co-developed the series with Matt Groening and served as executive producer and showrunner alongside Groening and James L. Brooks for the show's first and second seasons. He also served as creative supervisor for the first four seasons of the series. Simon passed away in 2015 due to complications related to his three-year battle with cancer.
The highly-anticipated 700th episode of The Simpsons is titled "Manger Things," a nod to the series' 1989 debut episode -- which was titled "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." Like the debut episode, the 700th episode is set during the Christmas season. "Manger Things" will shed light on the friendship between Homer Simpson and neighbor Ned Flanders, revealing a secret from Flanders' past in a never-before-seen room in the Simpsons' home.
"The thought was, Matt Groening wanted to do an episode featuring that little room above the garage that you see every week, but we've never been in," Jean stated ahead of the episode's broadcast. "That features big in this episode, and I thought it would be great if Homer and Flanders have sort of a secret bond that we never knew about, which is revealed in an episode that dates six years before the present." He added, "We're careful not to say what year that is."
Jean added, "As soon as they cancel us, they'll reboot us," adding, "It's too ubiquitous to think that it'll just disappear." He also laughed off the idea that the show could reach 1,000 episodes, noting that would take another 12 years.
After the episode aired, Jean sent a second tweet that read, ".@TheSimpsons 700 down 700 to go." While Jean hasn't revealed exactly how long he plans to keep The Simpsons going, he recently teased that the end could be near. "We're going to definitely do 757," Jean said at the time. "I wouldn't say that's the end but I don't know how much further we can go."
Disney+ also added in a celebratory tweet for the series, noting, "Tonight, your favorite Springfield fam is officially hitting a new milestone with their 700th episode! 🎉 Continue the #SimpsonsForever celebration by streaming 31 seasons of #TheSimpsons right now on #DisneyPlus."
The Simpsons stars the voices of Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria. New episodes air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. The series is currently streaming on Disney+.
Source: Twitter
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