Being Serious: Would picking up "The Simpsons" actually BE a good move for [AS]?

[MM54]

I know we've all the seen the posts (including one recent one) asking about the possibility of "The Simpsons" on Adult Swim. I started thinking about this and thought...would picking up Simpsons actually be a good move on Adult Swim's part? And how many people on here would be angered by the move?

[Rabi~en~Rose]

I don't think it would fit well with the rest of the lineup and would hog a weekday timespot for all eternity which would not be nice to other long running series AS has :( unless they expand to 10:00 that is but I still think its to late to bring it on board

[Space Cadet]

I wouldn't be surprised if CN tries to air The Simpsons instead of AS. I know Mike Lazzo wants the show on AS, but it's way too expensive to get right now.

[Master Moron]

I would probably watch it since I haven't seen the older episodes in years. I refuse to watch the episodes on syndication since they show them out of order, cut out scenes, and don't show the proper openings.

[Moto Pete]

I would not want to take a spot form new shows, But if adultswim continues to air garbage like Saul,Tim and Eric and ASSY then bring it on

other shows i'd like to bring back Camp Candy,Dino Riders and Capital Critters

[Gobias]

Either though I have all the DVDs, and plan on getting all future releases (yes, even seasons 10-12... I want to see how Mike Scully defends jocky elves), I still would like it if Adult Swim aired the show, especially since they could show all the stuff that's normally cut out in syndication.

[The Myst]

Either though I have all the DVDs, and plan on getting all future releases (yes, even seasons 10-12... I want to see how Mike Scully defends jocky elves)

Explanation: It was 2000, Family Guy was in its second season and was starting to pick up steam.

[Duke]

I don't think it would fit well with the rest of the lineup and would hog a weekday timespot for all eternity which would not be nice to other long running series AS has :( unless they expand to 10:00 that is but I still think its to late to bring it on board
Considering an entire hour is dedicated to Futurama, I'm sure they could find a spot on weeknights for The Simpsons.

[jbanks97]

Either though I have all the DVDs, and plan on getting all future releases (yes, even seasons 10-12... I want to see how Mike Scully defends jocky elves), I still would like it if Adult Swim aired the show, especially since they could show all the stuff that's normally cut out in syndication.


I haven't watched the Simpsons consistently in years, but instantely I know what you're talking about and I can tell you that along with the episode with Kid Rock are the worst episodes of all time.

One google search tells me they were both in Mike Scully seasons. I guess the backlash against him really had some merit.
(To keep this on track-no I don't think AS should pick the Simpsons up. It's one thing for a show like Futurama which never really had an audience to begin with. I think most people have seen/heard of the Simpsons before.)

[MegaJ]

Yes.

[Beat]

Adult Swim, as much as they hate to admit it, need middleground pop shows so they can continue to employ Tim and Eric, along with the Assy McGee people. Simpsons being aired would keep them afloat for two years without any issues.

[Lord Dalek]

If they are interested, then I'd expect AS to grab The Simpsons by 2008 (when Futurama's contract expires) at the earliest.

[herbkir]

If they can get the Simpsons and run them full-length, in order, they should do so. AS will need an animated comedy with proven mainstream appeal as a replacement for Futurama by the end of this year. The Simpsons has more than proven itself as a viewer draw. The early episodes haven't been seen in years, so they'll be almost the same as brand new. But I don't know whether the AS budget will be big enough for this acquisition. (^_*)

[Classic Speedy]

You know what? I'm not really crazy about the idea. The Simpsons is a show that is readily seen anywhere. Pretty much every syndicated market in the country plays at least one or two Simpsons episodes during the couple of hours before prime time every weekday, not to mention the new episodes on Fox and the DVDs being easily available. And if you're lucky, you can watch a full two hours of Simpsons if you happen to have two syndicated channels that play their block at different times (ex: 5-6 PM on ch. 23, then 6-7 PM on ch. 49!) Its run in syndication is clearly not ending anytime soon, and by putting it on AS would be overkill, in my mind. Heck, in some markets you might even be able to watch Simpsons in syndication at the same time it would hypothetically appear on AS!

True, Adult Swim has Family Guy, a show which is ALSO really common on the airwaves now (AS, Fox, TBS, DVDs), but as of yet, FG isn't syndicated on local channels to my knowledge. Plus, on TBS it doesn't air every day, and Fox only airs episodes once a week. Pretty much the only regular, most-every-day slot that FG has is on Adult Swim.

Then again, if it DID go on AS, it would probably be a ratings winner due to people who prefer to watch TV late instead of during the pre-prime time slots, not to mention those who either watch religiously or keep it on as background noise. I just think it's overkill.

[Ykwia]

You know what? I'm not really crazy about the idea. The Simpsons is a show that is readily seen anywhere. Pretty much every syndicated market in the country plays at least one or two Simpsons episodes during the couple of hours before prime time every weekday, not to mention the new episodes on Fox and the DVDs being easily available. And if you're lucky, you can watch a full two hours of Simpsons if you happen to have two syndicated channels that play their block at different times (ex: 5-6 PM on ch. 23, then 6-7 PM on ch. 49!) Its run in syndication is clearly not ending anytime soon, and by putting it on AS would be overkill, in my mind. Heck, in some markets you might even be able to watch Simpsons in syndication at the same time it would hypothetically appear on AS!

True, Adult Swim has Family Guy, a show which is ALSO really common on the airwaves now (AS, Fox, TBS, DVDs), but as of yet, FG isn't syndicated on local channels to my knowledge. Plus, on TBS it doesn't air every day, and Fox only airs episodes once a week. Pretty much the only regular, most-every-day slot that FG has is on Adult Swim.

Then again, if it DID go on AS, it would probably be a ratings winner due to people who prefer to watch TV late instead of during the pre-prime time slots, not to mention those who either watch religiously or keep it on as background noise. I just think it's overkill.

Yes, But the fact is that many people are tired of The Simpsons and want it to go away, Lot's of people have experienced the longest running series ever and it has gotten less funny since it's airing, Since more focus is focused on Homer, It has lost a lot of it's edge since then. The reason why many people like Futurama cause it's somthing diffrent and somthing more varied than The Simpsons, and it's cheap production values as of 2008 will hamper it down.

[HG Revolution]

Classic Simpsons on AS would spike up ratings, for sure.

The issue: it would also spike up KID ratings.

The Simpsons is a family show. Its not targeted directly at kids, but the content isn't adult or even teen exclusive. Most of the TV-PG jokes are no worse than other PG movies that are aimed at general audiences (Shrek, for instance, or the Back to the Future series). But family shows mean instant death for a series on CN. The closest original they ever had to a Flintstones-type demographic-defying phenomenon would be Samurai Jack, and you all know how that turned out. Futurama has more ground on Adult Swim than Simpsons does because Futurama is a workplace comedy, albeit a very wacky one which most tweens can get, whereas The Simpsons switches between Bart and Homer plotlines at ease, giving both kid and adult demographics something to instantly relate to.

If The Simpsons ever did come to The Network, it'd mean a few things. The end of Adult Swim, for one (though the same shows would air in the same timeslots with the same content warnings, it would be useless to divide the network by demographics if they were truely going to be all-ages). Another thing it would signal would be a big shift in how CN originals were made. Not only would riskier content not be an issue, but we'd see a return to the more universally-appealing styles and concepts that made the early Cartoon Cartoons successful as opposed to the dumbed-down approach recent shows have taken. Since The Simpsons is pretty old, we'd also get more '90s shows on the schedule and maybe some older WB and HB shorts would get airtime again. If The Simpsons can be the show which breaks The Network's current management style, I'm all for it. The problem is I don't see anyone trying to break it any time soon.

[Rabi~en~Rose]

Considering an entire hour is dedicated to Futurama, I'm sure they could find a spot on weeknights for The Simpsons.

a spot or even 2 no doubt! but think about the AS originals and American Dad getting shunned :( by the end of the year plenty of series should have enough episodes to go 4 nights a week especially now that AS has learned they can split halfhours between the 11 minute shows. here's the schedule I'd like to see for weeknights by fall

10:30 Family Guy
11:00 American Dad
11:30 Venture Brothers
12:00 ATHF
12:15 Metalocalypse

alternatively if they don't bring back A-Dad or aren't ready to strip VB then a Robot Chicken / Frisky Dingo half hour would work at 11:30/11:45 :) it would just be nice again if the originals had at least an hour each night and an hour for the imports would be pretty fair

[MegaJ]

A lot of people are bringing up the fact that The Simpsons is already in syndication, but their forgetting that AS will run The Simpsons without those pesky syndication edits. I bought The Simpsons season seven boxset the other day and was astounded by the things I didn't remember because they were cut out...

[Lighthammer]

A couple years back when it was being rumored that Simpsons was gonna move to CN exclusively due to Groening growing dislike of Fox's micromanagement skills, I was all for it.

Now, I tend to agree with some of the voices here. It would be over kill.

Adult Swim is getting close to the same problems Toonami had a few years back. Their known anchor shows are starting to dwindle.

I dont know about anyone else but I enjoy Futuruma more then any other comedy on CN and when it moves, there's a strong possibility I won't be watching comedies on Adult Swim anymore.

[Moto Pete]

A couple years back when it was being rumored that Simpsons was gonna move to CN exclusively due to Groening growing dislike of Fox's micromanagement skills, I was all for it.

Now, I tend to agree with some of the voices here. It would be over kill.

Adult Swim is getting close to the same problems Toonami had a few years back. Their known anchor shows are starting to dwindle.

I dont know about anyone else but I enjoy Futuruma more then any other comedy on CN and when it moves, there's a strong possibility I won't be watching comedies on Adult Swim anymore.

Fox has NO Say except for Censureship of the Simpsons

[Lighthammer]

Fox has NO Say except for Censureship of the Simpsons

True now, not back around season 7 or 8ish right after Futuruma folded and Groening was threatening to stop the Simpsons.

Since that point, Fox threw money upon money upon money at him and told him he could do anything he wanted.

[Moto Pete]

True now, not back around season 7 or 8ish right after Futuruma folded and Groening was threatening to stop the Simpsons

Since that point, Fox threw money upon money upon money at him and told him he could do anything he wanted.



Yeah FOX did Mess with Futurama

[The Myst]

True now, not back around season 7 or 8ish right after Futuruma folded and Groening was threatening to stop the Simpsons.

Since that point, Fox threw money upon money upon money at him and told him he could do anything he wanted.
Dude, Futurama didn't exist during season 7/8. The last episode of Futurama aired just before season 15 started.

[Moto Pete]

Dude, Futurama didn't exist during season 7/8. The last episode of Futurama aired just before season 15 started.

It Started March '99 (near end of S10) and End Aug '03 ( Right b4 S15)

[Ykwia]

If The Simpsons ever did come to The Network, it'd mean a few things. The end of Adult Swim, for one (though the same shows would air in the same timeslots with the same content warnings, it would be useless to divide the network by demographics if they were truely going to be all-ages). Another thing it would signal would be a big shift in how CN originals were made. Not only would riskier content not be an issue, but we'd see a return to the more universally-appealing styles and concepts that made the early Cartoon Cartoons successful as opposed to the dumbed-down approach recent shows have taken. Since The Simpsons is pretty old, we'd also get more '90s shows on the schedule and maybe some older WB and HB shorts would get airtime again. If The Simpsons can be the show which breaks The Network's current management style, I'm all for it. The problem is I don't see anyone trying to break it any time soon.

No, No, The end of [adult swim] will the the thousands of bad shows that inhabit the block already, There's Morel Orel, Assy McGee, Squidbillies and also comming is Tim & Eric's Sketch Show, Saul of the Mole Men, and Lucy: Daughter of the Devil

I wonder how you guys like all this, Within the next year or so, [adult swim] will be history.

[The Myst]

No, No, The end of [adult swim] will the the thousands of bad shows that inhabit the block already, There's Morel Orel, Assy McGee, Squidbillies and also comming is Tim & Eric's Sketch Show, Saul of the Mole Men, and Lucy: Daughter of the Devil

I wonder how you guys like all this, Within the next year or so, [adult swim] will be history.

There's a big fanbase for Orel, Assy is slowly developing fans, Squidbillies has a small fanbase, Time and Eric have fans that will follow anything they do, Saul got a lot of laughs on this board, and people pretty much universally liked Lucy.

[Ykwia]

There's a big fanbase for Orel, Assy is slowly developing fans, Squidbillies has a small fanbase, Time and Eric have fans that will follow anything they do, Saul got a lot of laughs on this board, and people pretty much universally liked Lucy.

How can Assy develop fans.
and what you are saying is that most of the people who watch Adult Swim are sheep.

Also, I liked Saul a little.

[dawnyoshi]

No, No, The end of [adult swim] will the the thousands of bad shows that inhabit the block already, There's Morel Orel, Assy McGee, Squidbillies and also comming is Tim & Eric's Sketch Show, Saul of the Mole Men, and Lucy: Daughter of the Devil

I wonder how you guys like all this, Within the next year or so, [adult swim] will be history.


Have Tim and Eric's Sketch Show and Saul of the Mole Men actually even aired on AS yet? (i'm not counting previews that people may have seen of things like Saul, I mean a couple of episode and they gave the series a shot)

Just making a note, since the post sounded very much like something I'd of say four years ago (you don't want to sound like I did four years ago, by the way).

On-Topic: I really don't think the Simpsons belongs on AS. If anything, I feel it would be best used as a lead-in towards the actual Adult Swim block, as part of Cartoon Network. (perhaps 9-10:30 starting from season one. This keeps some episodes in primetime while leading some audiences directly into AS and Futurama).

[The Myst]

On-Topic: I really don't think the Simpsons belongs on AS. If anything, I feel it would be best used as a lead-in towards the actual Adult Swim block, as part of Cartoon Network. (perhaps 9-10:30 starting from season one. This keeps some episodes in primetime while leading some audiences directly into AS and Futurama).

The Simpsons has too much mature content to air before AS. Not much but it's there.

[Moto Pete]

simpsons is too mature it airs at 8pm est on Sunday it does not get safer then that

[The Myst]

simpsons is too mature it airs at 8pm est on Sunday it does not get safer then that

Fox isn't a network aimed at young children.

[Ykwia]

Fox isn't a network aimed at young children.
But young children watch the network anyways, This is the same for the other big 5.

[The Myst]

But young children watch the network anyways, This is the same for the other big 5.

Yes, but they're not supposed to. They're supposed to watch Cartoon Network and CN isn't going to air anything that warrants a parental advisory before AS.