The Simpsons Renewed : Will Pass 500 Episodes

Fox has renewed The Simpsons for a 23rd season of animated adventures, taking it through its landmark 500th episode (specifically, it takes the show up to episode 515). Word of the show's continued production comes as The Simpsons is having a particularly buzzworthy season, what with that recent Banksy open, a Mark Zuckerberg cameo, and an upcoming Katy Perry segment with the Muppets. Longtime Simpsons show-runner Al Jean, while psyched about the renewal, said he can't claim to be the most excited one about the good news: "The happiest of all was the unicorn who pokes holes in all our DVDs," Jean told us. "He's getting extra hay out of this."

One of the most sacred motifs in the history of network television was handed over to one of the most subversive and notorious artists in the history of art as graffiti guru Banksy was given the reigns of the opening sequence of The Simpsons!
Banksy applies some subtle stamps on the opening montage, including Bart’s chalkboard punishment statement, “I must not write all over the walls.” But things get a little crazy dark and Banksyfied once we reach the familiar couch gag!

Fox's last Simpsons renewal, which was for two seasons, came back in February 2009. The show needs the extra lead time owing to its long production timetable, and with the new pickup, it will have enough episodes to air though at least spring 2012; Jean expects the 500th episode to be broadcast in February 2012. "We'll actually have enough episodes to go into a 24th season," even if Fox doesn't officially order that season. However, with the series so tantalizingly close to season 25, it seems hard to imagine the show not surviving that long. (For TV geeks keeping track, Lassie and Gunsmoke are the only prime-time shows that have produced more episodes, with 588 and 635, respectively.)

Jean has already teased most of the big plotlines for this season of the show, and while producers just got done working on the 2011 Treehouse of Horror, he wouldn't give up any spoilers for next year just yet. Jean did, however, hint at another Banksy-level couch gag as a possibility for later this season. "We're in the early stages of it, and if it happens, it would surprise people a great deal," he said.