Daytime soap operas are often unfairly looked upon as lesser television series than their primetime counterparts, but fans of the genre are riled up over a mainstream media outlet completely overlooking shows like General Hospital, Days of our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful in a major story posted last week.
Variety reported that "history has been made" with the two-year renewal of The Simpsons, which takes the animated series into Season 29 and Season 30. "An unprecedented feat [that makes it] the longest-running scripted TV show of all time," the story reads.
SCREEEEEEEEEEECH. Um, say what? The longest-running scripted TV show of all time? Though it is no longer airing, Guiding Light was beamed into homes for 57 years (72 if you count its radio days). But maybe Variety meant shows that are currently in production? What about General Hospital, which debuted in 1963 and is currently in its 53rd season? Days of our Lives, which debuted in 1965 and is currently in its 51st season? The Young and the Restless, which debuted in 1973 and is currently in its 43rd season? Or The Bold and the Beautiful, which debuted in 1987 and is currently in its 29th season?
SCREEEEEEEEEEECH. Um, say what? The longest-running scripted TV show of all time? Though it is no longer airing, Guiding Light was beamed into homes for 57 years (72 if you count its radio days). But maybe Variety meant shows that are currently in production? What about General Hospital, which debuted in 1963 and is currently in its 53rd season? Days of our Lives, which debuted in 1965 and is currently in its 51st season? The Young and the Restless, which debuted in 1973 and is currently in its 43rd season? Or The Bold and the Beautiful, which debuted in 1987 and is currently in its 29th season?
Meanwhile, soap operas blow those numbers out of the water: GH stands with an impressive 13,697+ episodes; DAYS stands with 12,958+; Y&R stands with 11,047+ episodes; and B&B stands with 7,457+ episodes. Furthermore, canceled soap Guiding Light broadcast 18,262 episodes, As the World Turns aired 13,858 episodes, One Life to Live tallied 11,136 in 45 seasons, and All My Children produced 10,755 episodes in 43 seasons.
Homer Simpson made a statement in celebration of The Simpsons being renewed. Ironically, he says, "Take that, Gunsmoke! You lost a race you didn't even know you were running!"
Sorry to break it to you, Homer: You lost that race, too.
That being said, The Simpsons is considered a pop culture phenomenon and deserves to be celebrated for its achievements. The series has garnered 32 Emmys, 34 Annie Awards, a 2016 People's Choice Award, and a 2016 Environmental Media Award, and it was the first animated series to win a Peabody Award and took home an Academy Award nomination in 2012. The show also has a ride at Universal Studios and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and it became a box office hit with the 2007 theatrical film The Simpsons Movie.
"The Simpsons has meant so much to the network, the studio and everyone at Fox, and its continued cultural impact around the globe is a testament to the combined brilliance of [executive producers] Matt [Groening], Jim [L. Brooks] and Al [Jean]," said FOX Television Group chairmen and CEOs, Dana Walden and Gary Newman, in a statement about the show's renewal. "Congratulations to everyone who works on this groundbreaking series -- from the voice cast and producers to the writers and production team -- you comprise one of the greatest collections of creative talent in the history of the medium. And to the millions of Simpsons fans around the world, thank you for watching all these years. We're happy to tell you there's lots more to come."
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