The Simpsons is an American family animated television sitcom, created by Matt Groening and produced by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The main characters are a satire of a working-class family, consisting of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The series lampoons many aspects of American culture, society, politics and history.

The cartoon made its debut as 60-second animated bumpers for the The Tracey Ullman Show, with the first short airing on April 19, 1987. The shorts were then expanded into a full-length 30-minute television spin-off by 20th Century Fox, first airing on December 17, 1989. As of 2015, 26 seasons of the series have been produced.

The series currently holds the record for the longest-running prime-time sitcom in the US, running for 25 years since 1989, and becoming the longest-running program on FOX.