The Simpsons (franchise) a family and their life in a typical American town. However, because of its animated nature, "The Simpsons"' scope is larger than that of a regular sitcom. The town of Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. By having Homer work in a nuclear power plant, the show can comment on the state of the environment. Through Bart and Lisa's days at Springfield Elementary School, the show's writers illustrate pressing or controversial issues in the field of education. The town features a vast array of media channels—from kids' television programming
The Simpsons the first successful animated program in American prime time since "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home" in the 1970s. During most of the 1980s, US pundits considered animated shows as appropriate only for children, and animating a show was too expensive to achieve a quality suitable for prime-time television. "The Simpsons" changed this perception, initially leading to a short period where networks attempted to recreate prime-time cartoon success with shows like "Capitol Critters", "Fish Police", and "Family Dog", which were expensive and unsuccessful. "The Simpsons" use of Korean animation studios for tweening, coloring, and filming made the episodes cheaper. The