The Simpsons Ride: Photo by Giona Mason
The greatest TV shows have always been TV shows to push boundaries and take risks that other shows of the time wouldn’t. A prime example of this is when The Simpsons was released in the 1990s. The still running show has since created an entire genre, adult animation. The show also influenced the methods of many comedy television shows that run alongside it today.
A New Genre
Before The Simpsons debuted in 1989, animation was considered to be a genre just for kids. On release the show immediately had to fight as a pioneer of a new genre, adult animation. Since then adult animation has become extremely popular. There are now countless amounts of adult animation, from comedy focused shows such as Archer, to more emotional theme centered shows like Bojack Horseman. Without the Simpsons proving that adult animation could be a success, many of America’s beloved cartoons may not exist today.
The Simpsons’ Different Approach to Comedy
In addition to creating a new genre, The Simpsons approached comedy in a different manner than the comedy television that came before it. Writer Mike Reiss stated in his book The Springfield Confidential that in the writing room of early episodes, the team was focused on fitting as many jokes as possible into the time-slot available. This created the couch gag and the chalkboard gag, the beginning of show introductions having changing gags. This can also be seen in a later aired fox show Bob’s Burgers, which features three different puns in each introduction. This also began a strive for comedy that wasn’t plot driven through similar shows in the future.
Without The Simpsons many shows we love today would not exist. Not only that, but many shows that we know would have been executed differently. The Simpsons is a highly influential show, and will continue influencing shows as it prepares for its 37th season.