The Simpsons was first shown on the variety series, The Tracey Ullman Show, on April 19, 1987, It was adapted by the Fox network and premiered as a 30-minute comedy series in December 1989, with the Christmas special 'Simpsons roasting on an open fire'.
The iconic series is the brainchild of Oregon cartoonist Matt Groening, who was asked to pitch a new idea to screenwriter James L Brooks, and came up with the last-minute plot while waiting in the lobby of his office.
Groening named the Simpsons after members of his own family - except for Bart, which is an anagram of "brat".
Over the next two decades, Groening and Brooks - who still act as executive producers on the show - never looked back. The Simpsons won Emmy awards in 1990, 1991, 1995 and 1997 and become the first series to enter Fox's Top 30 ratings in a single season.
In 1998, Time magazine named The Simpsons the century's best television series, and in 2008 it was awarded the title of Empire's greatest television show of all time.
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