The Simpsons has made history and to commemorate it, they paid homage to the series they surpassed in the record books. In a new video, the long-running sitcom tipped their cowboy hat to Gunsmoke by parodying the intro of the long-running western. The Simpsons, famous for its parodies, called on Maggie Simpson to take the shot at the animated series breaking Gunsmoke's record. Scroll down to watch it for yourself here:
Fox released The Simpsons' parody on the YouTube page for its animated series. Fox shared the clip ahead of the premiere of The Simpsons' record-breaking episode. If you are familiar with the Gunsmoke intro, then you know The Simpsons' parody starts off as a pretty spot-on spoof of the iconic opener. The exceptions are pretty obvious.
The Fox series is already the longest-running sitcom and animated series in American history. So you may be wondering what record this parody is referring to shattering. Back in 2009, The Simpsons exceeded the legendary western Gunsmoke as the longest-running primetime scripted series with the highest number of seasons. It now has a new record under its belt having broken another facet of the record. So what is it?
The Simpsons has now aired the most episodes of any primetime television series, beating the record previously held by Gunsmoke. To put that in perspective, Gunsmoke ended in 1975, which means it has taken a little over forty-three years for another series to break its record. While Gunsmoke ran for 20 seasons, The Simpsons is currently in the midst of Season 29. That means it has taken The Simpsons, nine more seasons than Gunsmoke, to exceed the western's episode count.
The Simpsons will break Gunsmoke's episode count record with Episode 18 of Season 29. For those wondering how other shows haven't already broken this record, there is an answer. First of all, this record only pertains to American series. Secondly, it only accounts for series that air in primetime, so shows that air before 8 p.m. ET, do not qualify. And thirdly, this record is for scripted series. So reality shows or other unscripted programs, do not count.
The Simpsons will surpass Gunsmoke with its 636th episode entitled "Forgive and Regret." According to IMDb's description for the episode, it will find Grampa making a deathbed confession to Homer. Don't worry Grampa recovers and runs into difficulty trying to reconcile his confession with Homer. Find out how it all plays out.
Episode 18, as well as all other new episodes of The Simpsons air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Want to find out what new or returning shows are coming to Fox? We have made it easy for you. Peruse our guides to TV's midseason and summer premieres.
