The Simpsons shorts The Simpsons shorts The Simpsons shorts are an American animated TV series of 48 one-minute shorts that ran on the variety television program "The Tracey Ullman Show" for three seasons, before the characters spun off into "The Simpsons", their own half-hour prime-time show. It features Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The series was created by Matt Groening, who designed the Simpson family and wrote many of the shorts. The shorts first aired on April 19, 1987 starting with "Good Night". The final short to air was "TV Simpsons", originally airing on May 14, 1989. "The Simpsons" later debuted on
The Simpsons "the American family at its most complicated, drawn as simple cartoons. It's this neat paradox that makes millions of people turn away from the three big networks on Sunday nights to concentrate on The Simpsons." Tucker would also describe the show as a "pop-cultural phenomenon, a prime-time cartoon show that appeals to the entire family." On February 9, 1997, "The Simpsons" surpassed "The Flintstones" with the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" as the longest-running prime-time animated series in the United States. In 2004, "The Simpsons" replaced "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (1952 to 1966) as the