Springfield may finally have an expiration date — at least if Nancy Cartwright’s prediction comes true.
Cartwright, the longtime voice of Bart Simpson, suggested The Simpsons could call it a day after Season 40 during an appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast.
Asked how long she thinks the legendary animated sitcom will remain on the air, Cartwright simply answered, “40 [seasons].”
When Rosenbaum asked if she really believed the show would stop there, Cartwright replied, “Yeah,” before quickly clarifying, “It’s my opinion.”
So, before fans start planning Springfield’s funeral, there’s a pretty big catch: Cartwright is perfectly happy to keep going.
Rosenbaum asked what would happen if producers wanted more seasons. Cartwright joked, “Are we still alive?” Once assured everyone would still be working, she answered, “Yeah, we’ll keep going then.”
Asked if she would stay for as long as the show continues, Cartwright was even more direct: “Absolutely.”
That could leave plenty of room for Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie to keep causing trouble beyond Season 40.
Fox already renewed The Simpsons for four more seasons last year, while a second feature film is also in the works nearly two decades after The Simpsons Movie.
The show remains TV’s longest-running American scripted primetime series, with 808 episodes under its belt.
And showrunner Matt Selman certainly isn’t acting like the end is near. “There was never a point where I went to bed thinking, ‘The show is probably going to end. We’re going to have to pack it up and clean all the crap out of our offices,’” he previously said.
For now, Springfield isn’t going anywhere. And neither is Bart — apparently.
