‘The Simpsons’ could end after season 40: Nancy Cartwright, voice of Bart Simpson, predicts show's future

Nancy Cartwright, who has voiced Bart Simpson since 1987, has predicted that The Simpsons may end after its 40th season, while making it clear she'd be happy to continue if the show decides to run longer.

Anjali Thakur
Published9 Aug 2026, 02:06 PM IST
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The Simpsons could have an end date in sight — at least according to one of its longtime stars.

Nancy Cartwright, who has voiced Bart Simpson since 1987, revealed that the animated sitcom may wrap after Season 40, during an appearance on Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast on Tuesday.

Asked how long she thinks "The Simpsons" will be on the air, Cartwright answered, "40 [seasons]."

The show, which first aired as a standalone series in 1989 after debuting as shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show" two years earlier, finished its 37th season in February.

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"Yeah," Cartwright said, before adding, "It's my opinion," when he pressed her on whether she was sure.

Open To Continuing Beyond Season 40

But Cartwright, who is also responsible for several other voices on the show, made clear that she is open to going beyond 40 seasons if the show wants to continue.

Rosenbaum asked what she would do if producers said, "We wanna keep going?" Cartwright joked, "Are we still alive?" before asking whether everyone else would still be around, too.

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Once Rosenbaum confirmed that everyone was still working, Cartwright said, "Yeah, we'll keep going then."

Asked if she would stay on for as long as it wanted to continue, she replied, "Absolutely."

Fox Has Locked In Four More Seasons

Last year, Fox locked down "The Simpsons" for four more seasons as part of its "Animation Domination" slate, which also features "Family Guy," "Bob's Burgers" and "American Dad."

"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,'" Selman said.

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Selman also pointed to its arrival on Disney+ following Disney's 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox as a major factor in bringing in younger viewers.

"A whole new generation of younger fans fell in love with the show and it became their favorite show," he said.

"The Simpsons" is the longest-running American scripted primetime series in TV history, having surpassed "Gunsmoke" in 2009, and has now aired 808 episodes.

About the Author

Anjali Thakur is a Senior Assistant Editor with Mint, reporting on trending news, entertainment and health, with a focus on stories driving digital conversations. Her work involves spotting early signals across news cycles and social media, sharpening stories for SEO and Google Discover, and mentoring young editors in digital-first newsroom practices. She is known for turning fast-moving developments—whether news-driven or culture-led—into clear, tightly edited journalism without compromising editorial rigour.<br><br> Before joining Mint, she was Deputy News Editor at NDTV.com, where she led the Trending section and covered viral news, breaking developments and human-interest stories. She has also worked as Chief Sub-Editor at India.com (Zee Media) and as Senior Correspondent with Exchange4media and Hindustan Times’ HT City, reporting on media, advertising, entertainment, health, lifestyle and popular culture.<br><br> Anjali holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miranda House, and is currently pursuing an MBA, strengthening her understanding of business strategy and digital media economics. Her writing balances newsroom discipline with a clear instinct for what resonates with readers.

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