Whose record did the Simpsons surpass for the longest-running animated series?
The Simpsons (franchise) most of the first three seasons. In 1990, Bart quickly became one of the most popular characters on television in what was termed "Bartmania". 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 longest-running sitcom (animated or live action) in the United States. In May 2007, "The Simpsons" reached their 400th episode at the end of the eighteenth season. Hallmarks of the show include
The Simpsons longest-running sitcom (animated or live action) in the United States. In 2009, "The Simpsons" surpassed "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"s record of 435 episodes and is now recognized by "Guinness World Records" as the world's longest running sitcom (in terms of episode count). In October 2004, "Scooby-Doo" briefly overtook "The Simpsons" as the American animated show with the highest number of episodes (albeit under several different iterations). However, network executives in April 2005 again cancelled "Scooby-Doo", which finished with 371 episodes, and "The Simpsons" reclaimed the title with 378 episodes at the end of their seventeenth season. In May