The Simpsons

The Simpsons holds the record as the longest-running animated television series in U.S. history. The Simpsons began in 1987 as a cartoon short on the Tracy Ullman Show, a variety program on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Expanded to half an hour, it debuted as a Christmas special on December 17, 1989, and then began airing regularly in January 1990.

The Simpsons is set in the fictional American city of Springfield. The true setting and supposed state in which the city might be located are never explicitly stated in the show; creator Matt Groening wanted Springfield to be generic enough to seem like it could exist anywhere in America.

Although there are dozens of recurring characters and many voice actors play more than one character, the six main cast members are Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Harry Shearer, and Yeardley Smith.

Episodes of The Simpsons tend to be rated TV-PG, meaning parental guidance is suggested. Some episodes have been rated TV-14, in which case parents are strongly cautioned against allowing children under the age of 14 to watch. Still, the show has been credited for its slyly inappropriate or complex jokes that are not easily understood by younger audiences.

Fans have long kept score of the many times The Simpsons show writers seem to have predicted events well before they occurred in real life. Two of the most famous predictions were that Disney would acquire 21st Century Fox—and by extension, The Simpsons—as well as that Donald Trump would become president of the United States.