It might be the end of the road for "The Simpsons"

[TroyG]

Apparently, The 2011-12 season could be it's last, According to The FOX Television Network, and The show's producer, 21st Century FOX Television. Sources are pinpointing about the future of The Voice Actors behind the prime-time cartoon. As their paycuts are now being reduced. What a good run it has been. 23 seasons on the air is long enough to call it quits. "The Simpsons", Along with "Married with Children", "America's Most Wanted", and "Cops" WERE the cornerstones that helped The FOX Television Network

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

If it happens, anyone care to guess what show (or movie) will be parodied by the Simpson writers in the last show?

My guess: probably a hybrid of the last "Newhart" and the entire 1985-86 dream season of "Dallas"--as in the whole series is a dream by the Tracey Ullman-era Homer (or nightmare particularly if they end the run with one last "Treehouse of Horror" next fall). Maybe he wakes up hung over--after a long night at Moe's--in the Simpson bathroom's shower, then end the series with the Tracey Ullman Show closing theme at the credits. . Thus, no worries about continuity and why the characters never aged! ;D ;D

 

[mnradiofan]

I think at this point, this is a negotiation tactic, although if Fox lets the show die over money, especially over a 15% pay cut, it will really serve as a statement of the current goals of network television.

The actors refuse to take more than a 30% pay cut, and the network is refusing anything less than a 45% pay cut. Say what you want about The Simpsons, but it is still a very consistent performer for Fox, especially as Fox cannibalizes other shows in the interest of money, like House.

What I'm about to say is just my opinion, but I think we are seeing the very slow death of scripted programming on Fox. Face it, nothing scripted, that Fox has introduced on Mondays has performed even close to 24. The cuts they demanded of House made them lose a principal character in the show, and they have also killed off Mad TV, and America's Most Wanted.

And if Fox thinks that they can get Seth McFarlin to fill the hole left by the departure of "The Simpsons" next fall, they aren't paying attention. The product that Seth has been putting out has been going downhill for at least a year now, especially on his flagship show "Family Guy". It's gone from offensive to just plain disgusting and not funny with many of the bits.

 

[nocomradio]

I watched the Simpsons from its inception, and it was a clever show. For the first 6 seasons or so. It just went downhill after that, save for a few shows here and there that were good ones.

It is beyond long in the tooth, and time to be put out to pasture.

 

[azumanga]

The actors refuse to take more than a 30% pay cut, and the network is refusing anything less than a 45% pay cut. Say what you want about The Simpsons, but it is still a very consistent performer for Fox, especially as Fox cannibalizes other shows in the interest of money, like House.

Furthermore, the voice actors wanted give up up to 30% of their pay in exchange for a piece of the action besides residuals, including a cut in merchandising, syndication, and DVD / BluRay sales, but all Fox is offering is at least a 45% pay cut, period.

I side with the voices this time -- if they end up walking, it'll be more solid evidence that corporations care more about money and less about people.

 

[DToTheJ]

@nocomradio: Agreed. That shark jumped a long time ago. Henry Winkler should be waking up next to Tracey Ullman at the end of the final episode!

 

[mnradiofan]

I watched the Simpsons from its inception, and it was a clever show. For the first 6 seasons or so. It just went downhill after that, save for a few shows here and there that were good ones.

It is beyond long in the tooth, and time to be put out to pasture.

I couldn't disagree more. The first 6 seasons were great, and edgy for the time, but if you just stuck with that early model, The Simpsons would be one of the tamest shows on TV. Having watched since the beginning, I will agree that the show has changed, but I think it has changed for the better. Furthermore, having gone back and watched the first few seasons again on DVD, they are not nearly as funny as the product being put out today, simply because the landscape of TV has changed from "Bill Cosby" to "The Office". It's not to say that family oriented comedies are dead (far from it, look at Modern Family), but even Family comedies are edgier than they were 20 years ago. Had "The Simpsons" stayed the original course, they would be considered more of a "family comedy" than what they already are today.

 

[mnradiofan]

The actors refuse to take more than a 30% pay cut, and the network is refusing anything less than a 45% pay cut. Say what you want about The Simpsons, but it is still a very consistent performer for Fox, especially as Fox cannibalizes other shows in the interest of money, like House.

Furthermore, the voice actors wanted give up up to 30% of their pay in exchange for a piece of the action besides residuals, including a cut in merchandising, syndication, and DVD / BluRay sales, but all Fox is offering is at least a 45% pay cut, period.

I side with the voices this time -- if they end up walking, it'll be more solid evidence that corporations care more about money and less about people.

It seems that the TV Executives are starting to think like stock market investors. Sacrifice the product quality to increase the bottom line today. The problem is, this is not a good long term strategy, as finding something that could make nearly the amount of money "The Simpsons" still makes for Fox could take years. Look at what has happened to NBC? That same train of thought has taken them from first network to last network in terms of audience (even being beat out by Univision from time to time, despite the smaller overall audience due to the niche nature of the network).

Fox seems to be pulling an ABC, and putting all of it's eggs in cooking reality shows and musical themed shows. They should really take a step back and look at how that worked out for "Who Wants To Be A Millionare". ABC is STILL recovering from that disaster.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Or they can do a Treehouse of Horrors episode where the aliens use a space ray to
wipe out all the voices of everyone in Springfield, and when they return they are different.

 

[mnradiofan]

Or they can do a Treehouse of Horrors episode where the aliens use a space ray to
wipe out all the voices of everyone in Springfield, and when they return they are different.

I hope they don't do this. The Simpsons ARE the voice actors. If they leave, the show should end.

 

[BlueWanderer]

The Simpsons should have ended and pass the torch on to Futurama a decade ago, imo. The audience wouldn't been so burnout on the show and they could've made more movies off from the franchise. Then again, the president(s) at FOX at that time didn't care for Futurama so it wouldn't have matter.

I've noticed Family Guy is mentioned more often than The Simpsons these days. It shows how irrelevant Simpsons have become to today's audience when compared to the '90s.

 

[imhomerjay]

Still a potentially reliable source of revenuefor Fox, delivering good numbers in the demo (which as one news item points out means the show has regenerated its audience). That some people would snipe and gripe about "the good old days" is hardly surprising about any show that's run for a long time.

 

[LKellerIII]

I think at this point, this is a negotiation tactic, although if Fox lets the show die over money, especially over a 15% pay cut, it will really serve as a statement of the current goals of network television.

The actors refuse to take more than a 30% pay cut, and the network is refusing anything less than a 45% pay cut. Say what you want about The Simpsons, but it is still a very consistent performer for Fox, especially as Fox cannibalizes other shows in the interest of money, like House.

What I'm about to say is just my opinion, but I think we are seeing the very slow death of scripted programming on Fox. Face it, nothing scripted, that Fox has introduced on Mondays has performed even close to 24. The cuts they demanded of House made them lose a principal character in the show, and they have also killed off Mad TV, and America's Most Wanted.

And if Fox thinks that they can get Seth McFarlin to fill the hole left by the departure of "The Simpsons" next fall, they aren't paying attention. The product that Seth has been putting out has been going downhill for at least a year now, especially on his flagship show "Family Guy". It's gone from offensive to just plain disgusting and not funny with many of the bits.

I'm always torn in these situations. Yes, networks are "greedy," blah-blah. But lets look at what these voice actors have been making. I truly respect their talents. For one, I've been a fan of Harry Shearer (Principal Skinner, Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, etc.) since his days on KRLA radio in the late 60s. But these guys have been making about $500,000 per episode for the last few years. No dobut, they get a nice chunk of residuals for all the markets in which The Simpsons is playing.

My father was an animator in the 50s thru the 70s. In the late 60s, he told me that one voice actor he worked with was making over $500 per week in residuals for his voice work on one partiular cartoon show in rerun syndication that was nowhere near as popular or widely distributed (this was pre-cable) as Simpsons is today. Adjust for inflation, and that's about $3,200 per week in current dollars.

Add all that up and it means that Shearer, Castellaneta, Kavner, and the others are probably making more money than any other voice actors in history, and more than they'll need to support their children's children. If they still enjoy the work, and want to continue for another year, I don't think it's unreasonable for them to agree to a pay cut.

 

[Bob1370]

Who actually owns the show? This may make a big difference. If Fox owns it, they have the right to screw it up or kill it, then regret it later. But if it isn't Fox property that could be a different story.

If Matt Groening owns the characters and the intellectual property, and wants to keep the cast intact, is there anything to keep him from moving the show lock, stock and animation cameras over to NBC, which would probably be happy to find a place for it and has more than enough of Comcast's money to pay for it?

 

[udfan07]

I think the first 9 seasons were good but for about the last 10 years it isn't as good. I still watch it and there are times I watch and episode and don't even laugh anymore. It is time for the show to go but I just don't think this is how it should go out over a dispute over money

 

[mnradiofan]

I think at this point, this is a negotiation tactic, although if Fox lets the show die over money, especially over a 15% pay cut, it will really serve as a statement of the current goals of network television.

The actors refuse to take more than a 30% pay cut, and the network is refusing anything less than a 45% pay cut. Say what you want about The Simpsons, but it is still a very consistent performer for Fox, especially as Fox cannibalizes other shows in the interest of money, like House.

What I'm about to say is just my opinion, but I think we are seeing the very slow death of scripted programming on Fox. Face it, nothing scripted, that Fox has introduced on Mondays has performed even close to 24. The cuts they demanded of House made them lose a principal character in the show, and they have also killed off Mad TV, and America's Most Wanted.

And if Fox thinks that they can get Seth McFarlin to fill the hole left by the departure of "The Simpsons" next fall, they aren't paying attention. The product that Seth has been putting out has been going downhill for at least a year now, especially on his flagship show "Family Guy". It's gone from offensive to just plain disgusting and not funny with many of the bits.

I'm always torn in these situations. Yes, networks are "greedy," blah-blah. But lets look at what these voice actors have been making. I truly respect their talents. For one, I've been a fan of Harry Shearer (Principal Skinner, Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, etc.) since his days on KRLA radio in the late 60s. But these guys have been making about $500,000 per episode for the last few years. No dobut, they get a nice chunk of residuals for all the markets in which The Simpsons is playing.

My father was an animator in the 50s thru the 70s. In the late 60s, he told me that one voice actor he worked with was making over $500 per week in residuals for his voice work on one partiular cartoon show in rerun syndication that was nowhere near as popular or widely distributed (this was pre-cable) as Simpsons is today. Adjust for inflation, and that's about $3,200 per week in current dollars.

Add all that up and it means that Shearer, Castellaneta, Kavner, and the others are probably making more money than any other voice actors in history, and more than they'll need to support their children's children. If they still enjoy the work, and want to continue for another year, I don't think it's unreasonable for them to agree to a pay cut.

I'm not disagreeing, and they have agreed to take a pay cut of 30%. Fox is demanding a pay cut of 45%. Like you, I'm torn, but the statement I was making was that if Fox lets it go over 15% ($75,000 per episode), it doesn't seem like it would be the wisest of moves, considering it may take years, or even decades, to come up with a replacement show that has the audience draw of "The Simpsons" for that half hour of programming. An argument can be made that "Family Guy" or "The Cleveland Show" can be moved into that timeslot, but then you are still looking at lost revenue for a half hour of the night, not to mention damage to the "Animation Domination" franchise. I'm sure there would be slight audience hits to the whole night, if it doesn't have the strong lead in.

Personally, I think it may be getting to be time to wrap up the show, but don't wrap it up like this. Give them one last season, and then promote it, to give them time to "say goodbye" or whatever. I'm sure it would be a decent moneymaker if people knew it was the final season.

 

[gregg75]

The show has gone downhill and I am lucky to watch it two times a year now. They have
run out of ideas. I would have stopped it about 5 years ago.

 

[FreddyE1977]

I've been told I do a fairly passable Apu and Moe the Bartender.
Just what is 55% of Hank Azaria's salary anyway?

 

[Markxxx]

I think it's about proportion. Sure it's easy to knock someone when they're making 8 million and asked to cut down 45%. But how many of us would take a 45% cut? Yes, I understand, a 45% cut at 8 million may not make a difference in lifestyle, while a 45% cut on a $25,000/year job would, but how much does FOX and the creators make?

It really isn't about money or raises, it's about fairness. I worked for a company with record profits, and they tried to sell everyone a line about canceling manager bonuses and not giving everyone a customary cost of living increase, while their CEO and upper levels were making millions in bonuses. It's really about fairness, it's not right to ask someone to take a 45% decrease unless overall everyone else is doing similar cuts.

Of course the answer to that will be, "they were overpaid and now we're getting back on track"

If they are overpaid, hopefully they saved their money and can use it as a negotiating technique. I think it's ridiculous that anyone make that money, but entertainers, sports figures, and high level management probably make much more than realistically they should and historically they did.

"The Simpsons," isn't what it once was, but it's still a lot better than most of what else is on.

 

[Nate Wesley]

1. The cast has reportedly agreed to an actual pay cut at a figure as less than 45%:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/simpsons-cast-fox-pay-cut-245648

2. Fox is clearly being really tight-azzed with Simpsons' profits, and they've likely exaggerated 'sustainability' claims (in my opinion):
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-the-simpsons-cancellation-syndication-243776

3. Harry Shearer (voice of Mr. Burns) says he'd allow Fox to cut his pay by as much as 70% if they'd only...
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=301449526536516