The Simpsons have been renewed for a record setting 26th season announced the Fox Broadcast Network.

The network described the animated series that stars a dysfunctional family as "one of the greatest sitcoms of our time".

Fox entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly said "For more than a quarter of a century,'The Simpsons' has captured the hearts and minds of fans in a way that transcends ages, languages and cultures".

He added, "This ground-breaking series is not only the longest-running scripted show in television history, it's one of the greatest sitcoms of our time, and I'm looking forward to yet another landmark season".

The show recently kicked off its 25th season and producer Al Jean told Sun News that a regular character will be killed off in the forthcoming series, but didn't reveal any information about which character it will be.

"I'll give you a clue that the actor playing the character won an Emmy for playing that character, but I won't say who it is" Jean told the network.

The show has won 25 Primetime Emmy awards in its storied career for the voices of Hank Arazia (Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and more) and Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Krusty, Barney and more), including many more, so it could literary be anyone.

The death is now scheduled for season 26 as Mr Jean responded to the shows renewal, "This is great; no end in sight, except for one character who will die next season".

Season 25 aired on Fox on 29th September 2012 and this coming Sunday (Oct 6th) will air the annual 'Treehouse of Horror XXIV', and the beginning couch segment has been re-written and directed by Guillermo del Toro especially for the Halloween episode.

Del Toro, who is known for 'Pacific Rim', 'The Devi's Backbone' and 'Pan's Labyrinth'', turned the 2 minute 45 second couch-gag into a horror-filled extravaganza.

Del Toro discussed with Entertainment Weekly the opportunity to be involved with the show, "The Simpsons titles are so iconic and yet they've never been riffed in this vein, I really wanted to land the connections between the [show's] set pieces and the titles and some of the most iconic horror movies, and intersperse them with some of my stuff in there for pure joy."

It is set to be an epic and unique opening sequence for the longest-running scripted show in television history. 'The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXIV' airs on Monday at 8pm on Fox.

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The annual 'Treehouse of Horrors' airs this Sunday (Oct 6th)