For its season 36 premiere final month, “The Simpsons” gave followers a fake-out sequence finale the place all of the Springfield characters (besides Bart) obtained pleased, conclusive endings, implying higher days (and potential spin-offs) forward. “I am certain gonna miss this place,” everybody stored saying, turning the lights off to whichever room they have been in and solemnly strolling out the door.
The episode was not the true finale, after all, but it surely did supply a glimpse of what the finale might seem like. For a present that is been famously hesitant to interrupt with the established order, even when it means preserving poor characters like Milhouse or Moe in countless agony, it might make sense for the sequence finale to middle across the characters breaking free. It would be good for Milhouse to get Lasik surgical procedure or for Homer to begin being a greater father. However for showrunner and government producer Matt Selman, the best “Simpsons” finale can be one thing just a little extra low-key.
“I simply hope it is only a common episode with no Winky Winky stuff in any respect,” he defined in a latest interview with Individuals journal. “Only a nice household story, similar to a basic story that is simply humorous and includes the entire household and would not really feel prefer it must wrap up something or change something or tie something up or be magic or speak to the viewers immediately.”
The Simpsons finale would not be the primary finale to take this strategy
A finale for a long-running sitcom that does not alter the established order is admittedly fairly uncommon. “Buddies” ended with Ross and Rachel getting again collectively and Chandler and Monica shifting out of the town, “Scrubs” ended with JD leaving the hospital for a brand new job, and “How I Met Your Mom” coated the massive occasions within the gang’s lives from 2014 all the way in which to 2030. This strategy is sensible for a live-action sitcom, because the actors will unavoidably age and the viewers will need to see them transfer ahead with their lives.
A protracted-running animated present would not have that concern, but it surely additionally would not have as many examples of previous finales to work off. “The Simpsons” was the primary hit animated sitcom for an grownup viewers, and of the main animated exhibits that got here out afterward (“Household Man,” “South Park,” Futurama”), most of them are nonetheless on the air. In terms of determining how you can finish a many years’ lengthy animated sitcom, “The Simpsons” would not have many examples to take inspiration from.
The perfect might be “King of the Hill,” whose remaining episode in 2009 was additionally pretty low-key. It ends on a candy word, however the established order would not change a lot. Granted, it type of had to be low-key given how its community handled the present, airing 4 new episodes afterward that have been produced earlier than the finale. In line with the air dates, technically the finale of “King of the Hill” is not even “To Sirloin with Love” however “Simply One other Manic Kahn-Day” (which got here out 9 months later), however most followers are in settlement that the one-hour “To Sirloin with Love” is the finale that counts.
With the upcoming revival of “King of the Hill,” one other advantage of a low-key finale is made clear: by not making issues too conclusive, the writers can preserve the door open for a relaunch down the road. “King of the Hill” has the liberty to return at any second as if nothing’s modified; if “The Simpsons” ends with an identical sort of finale, it may well all the time do the identical.
