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Homer and Marge Simpson are rumored to be splitting up on The Simpsons, with the family patriarch apparently set to fall for a pharmacist voiced by Girls star Lena Dunham.

Are Homer and Marge finally splitting up?

After a screen-grab of a new episode in which Bart writes "Homer and Marge are not breaking up" on the chalkboard in the opening credits, rumors of a split began doing the rounds on Twitter. The Simpsons denial was posted on the show's official Twitter account, along with a caption "RT and stop the rumors!"

Continue reading: Homer And Marge To Split, Lena Dunham "The Other Woman"

One of the most enduring couples in television history could be headed for splitsville, as Homer and Marge Simpson are reportedly set to ‘legally separate’ after 27 seasons of marriage. The shocking news has left fans reeling, but it appears the person to blame for the famous couple's troubles is none other than ‘Girls’ star Lena Dunham.

The new season of 'The Simpsons' looks set to bring some unexpected storylines.

In an interview with Variety the show's executive producer Al Jean let it slip that Homer and Marge will be experiencing marriage troubles in the upcoming season premiere, titled ‘Every Man's Dream’. “It’s discovered after all the years Homer has narcolepsy and it’s an incredible strain on the marriage,” Jean revealed.

Continue reading: Are Marge And Homer Headed For A Shocking Split On 'The Simpsons' And Is Lena Dunham To Blame?

We know that Lena Dunham is returning to our screens when the fourth season of ‘Girls’ takes its bow on HBO this weekend, but NYC is not the only place she’ll be appearing this year. Entertainment Weekly has revealed that she’ll also be seen in Springfield when she makes a guest appearance on ‘The Simpsons’.

The 28 year old actress and writer won’t be appearing as herself, or her ‘Girls’ character Hannah, however. She’ll be voicing a pharmacist called Candace who becomes romantically linked with Homer when he becomes diagnosed with narcolepsy, which makes him continually fall asleep.

Lena Dunham will be a guest star on 'The Simpsons' later this year

Continue reading: Lena Dunham To Guest Star In 'The Simpsons'

'The Simpsons' face a lawsuit of $250 million after Frank Sivero, who plays wiseguy Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese's gangster movie 'Goodfellas', claims the show stole his likeness for a recurring character.

The cartoon comedy series often uses celebrity likenesses in cameo roles for humorous effect, but Sivero is hoping he'll get the last laugh as he puts forward a multi-million dollar suit claiming the 'Simpsons' character - referred to as Louie - has contributed to him being typecast and is a fraudulent use of a role created and developed by Sivero himself for 'Goodfellas'.

The Simpsons under fire for Frank Sivero misappropriation

Continue reading: Goodfellas Vs The Simpsons: 'Goodfellas' Actor To Sue Fox Over The Simpsons Mob Character

Fox is under pressure to remove a line from its upcoming crossover episode of The Simpsons and Family Guy in which Stewie tells Moe Sizlack, "Your sister's being raped". The episode is due to air on Sunday (September 28, 2014).

The Simpsons/Family Guy crossover episode airs on Sunday

The much awaited episode sees Bart Simpson and his family hanging out with Stewie and the Family Guy crew. The controversial line appears in a segment in which Bart is teaching Stewie the art of the prank phone call. Bart dials the number of Moe's Tavern and asks if there is anything with the last name Keybum, first name Lee. 

Continue reading: The Simpsons/Family Guy Crossover Has Line, "Your Sister's Being Raped"

They say you haven’t ‘made it’ – i.e., reached the peak of your career- until you’ve had your Simpsons cameo. And even though Richard Branson was depicted in a season 22 episode alongside fellow billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, his voice has never featured. 

But now it has. The Virgin overlord will star as himself in an upcoming episode due to air early next year. “Richard Branson is the Flanders to Mr. Burns,” executive producer Al Jean told EW. “He’s Mr. Burns’ nosy neighbor.”

Continue reading: Richard Branson Has Recorded A Simpsons Cameo

Matt de Lanoy has taken his love for The Simpsons and Lego and combined them in the form of a lovingly recreated Springfield.

“Oddly enough, I ended creating my own Simpsons' house because the LEGO set was a bit too big to fit in my town plan,” explained the Lego enthusiast. 

Everything from The Simpsons family home – complete with annoying Flanders residence next door – stupid Flanders – to Homer’s place of work at the Nuclear power plant has been created. You can also check out Moe’s tavern, and the iconic moment when Bart lopped Jebediah Springfield's statue's head off to appear cool to the local bullies in the episode ‘The Telltale Head’. 

Continue reading: The Simpsons - See The Town Of Springfield In Lego Form [Pictures]

As The Simpsons enters a remarkable 26th season, Jane Fonda and Willem Dafoe are set to lend their voices to two characters in storylines pivotal to the main characters in the show.

Fonda will play grumpy millionaire, Mr. Burn's, girlfriend, while Dafoe will have the daunting task of being Bart's new teacher, Mr Lassen, although he has a few surprises in store for Bart that are sure to make his school life even more of a living hell. We know we’d rather be in charge of terrorising Bart than fraternising with ol' Burnsy. 

Continue reading: Jane Fonda And Willem Dafoe Amongst The New Faces (Voices) For Simpsons Season 26

Marge Simpson has finally got her moment. After years of living as Springfield’s most dependable blue-haired mom, Homer’s often down-trodden better half has been thrust out into the spotlight as the new face of MAC cosmetics.

Marge Simpson: The new face of MAC cosmetics

As Mrs Simpson fronts this new range of lip glosses, false eye lashes and brightly coloured eye shadows, it’s not unreasonable to look through sketching history and wonder if there aren’t some other animation mums that have been somewhat taken for granted.

Continue reading: 5 Of The Best Animated Matriarchs (Animatriachs?) Now That Marge Simpson Is The Face Of MAC Make-Up

'The Simpsons' will look very different on this Sunday's episode (May 4th).

The beloved animated family will be celebrating its 550th episode by getting a completely new makeover. The famous family, Springfield and the rest of the colourful characters will be going all LEGO in 'The Simpsons LEGO Spectacular.'

'The Simpsons' as LEGO pieces in Sunday's episode

Continue reading: The Simpsons' Producers Comment On 'The Simpsons LEGO Spectacular' Episode

The Simpsons is set to air its full Lego episode on Sunday (May 4, 2014), just a week after Entertainment Weekly reported the last episode of the show was the lowest rated episode in Simpsons history.

'The Simpsons' Lego Episode Airs This Sunday

On the flip side, The Lego Movie will easily be amongst the Top 10 biggest grossing movies of 2014 and the little blockheads are coming to give Bart and company a helping hand. The trailer for the upcoming episode - titled 'Brick Like Me' - hit Fox's animation domination YouTube channel. 

Continue reading: After Lowest Rated Episode, 'The Simpsons' Preps Lego Episode [Trailer]

The Simpsons are reverting to a trick increasingly adopted by TV shows nowadays: killing major characters off. Game of Thrones have a roundabout cull every so often to keep the masses enthralled (don’t kill me because I don’t like Game of Thrones – I think it’s silly and prefer The Wire) and Family Guy took down Bryan recently, only to resurrect him and gain a ratings boost in the process.

The Simpsons’ "Yellow Wedding" not only confirms Game of Thrones’ entrance into the official zeitgeist (a thing isn’t a thing until Homer’s involved) but it also means the show will incur a death; a major death. It will be "an even bigger deal" than the Red or Purple Weddings that have appeared in HBO’s fantasy melodrama. Seriously, I’m allowed not to like it. 

Continue reading: The Simpsons: So, Who's Going To Die In Upcoming 'Yellow Wedding'?

To celebrate their recent licencing of The Simpsons, FX is turning TV sets into a continuous stream of the cartoon by playing every single episode back to back. That’s a lot of episodes – 552 to be exact, and it’ll take 12 takes to get through them all.

And, in case you were wondering, there is a precedent for this, sort of.  In February last year, Jeremiah Franco, 22, and Carin Shreve, 33, set a new record of Simpsons watching by consuming 86 hours and 37 minutes consecutively. So with FXX’s 552 stint – running from Aug. 21 through Labor Day - will someone try and beat that?

Continue reading: Will FXX's Marathon 552 Simpsons Episode Run Lead To A Certain Record Being Broken?

The death of a character in a show can be difficult to stomach. We’d love to give some examples, but the wrath of an Internet scorned through spoilers is something nobody should have to face. In the case of an animated show like The Simpsons, death becomes an even tougher pill to swallow as it almost invariably stems from the death of a real person, not simply a character on a show.

The Simpsons has been running for 25 seasons, and counting...

When the late Marcia Wallace said goodbye following a battle against cancer last October, Edna Krabappel would soon follow. Of course, any tribute within The Simpsons for Edna Krabappel is both a touching tribute to the character Wallace brought life (and consummate pessimism) to, but also a dedication to the person Wallace was.

Continue reading: Ned Flanders' Tribute To Edna Krabappel - The Third And Final Goodbye?

Ellen DeGeneres' star-studded Oscar 'sefie' may have been the best photo in the world, until now. 'The Simpsons' attempted to recreate their own version of the photo, which broke the record for most ever retweets, and added one of their own biggest stars.

. rel="nofollow" @TheEllenShow Oscar® Selfie: A wider view. rel="nofollow" #thesimpsons rel="nofollow" pic.twitter.com/4rOSejhycW

— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) rel="nofollow" March 5, 2014

Continue reading: 'The Simpsons' Creates Own Version Of Oscar 'Selfie', Revealing "The Ugly True Story"

Ellen DeGeneres' Oscars selfie - which was actually taken by Bradley Cooper - has been the talk of the net all week, but it looks as though the famous snapshot is going to run and run. Memes are already cropping up, mainly of Kevin Spacey's head, but Simpsons creator Matt Groening has got in on the action too.

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The ugly true story of that Oscar® selfie can finally be told! Let's break Twitter again. Look for Bart. pic.twitter.com/tdfr3Juhff

— Homer J. Simpson (@HomerJSimpson) March 5, 2014

As if an entire movie about those infamous building bricks wasn’t enough, an entire episode of The Simpsons will be presented in a Lego aesthetic. Add to that an entire ad break reimagined in a Lego style, and you’ve got yourself a full-blown pandemic. The hysteria kicked off with the – admittedly critically acclaimed – movie, which set box offices alight.

The Simpsons Lego episode is in celebrate a new Lego Simpsons collection, pictured above. Image credit: LEGO

Now, Fox have announced an all-Lego episode of everyone’s favourite cartoon family, The Simpsons, in which Homer wakes up to find the whole town has been turned into the brick-based toy. The logline of “Brick Like Me” – which celebrates 25 years of the animation - asks: “Can he ‘put together’ how he got there and somehow figure out how to get home before he is stuck in a world of bricks forever?”

Continue reading: Lego Movie, Lego Simpsons Episode, Lego Advert Breaks - Have We Lego Of Our Senses?

Life continues to be sweet for The Simpsons as it approaches its 26th season, as it has become the most expensive program to be sold to a cable service in an unspecified, multi-million dollar deal. The deal was announced on Friday, 15 November, by the Fox-owned company, who now have the rights to every episode of the longest running comedy series of all time.

The show will make the move to cable broadcast for the first time

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new deal covers all existing 24 seasons of the much-loved series, which already includes 530 episodes, with more due to be added to the rooster following the airing of the 25th and 26th seasons of the show on Fox. This will mark the first time the Matt Groening show will be given exclusive coverage on a cable channel, and also marks the first time that the series has been legally made available to stream online, when it becomes available on FXNOW.

Continue reading: FXX Wins First Ever Cable Deal For 'The Simpsons' In Huge Off-Network Deal

Usually tasked with repeating his sins on the blackboard after school, Bart had something altogether more pertinent to write in its latest episode. The little yellow scamp penned, “We’ll miss you Mrs. K” in tribute to the late Marcia Wallace, who voiced the character of Mrs. Krabappel.

Bart and Edna had a love hate relationship on The Simpsons

Following her death the show's executive producer Al Jean described Wallace as "brilliant and gracious"and that she was "beloved by all at "The Simpsons" and we intend to retire her irreplaceable character.

Continue reading: "We'll Miss You Mrs. K" - Bart's Farewell To Marcia Wallace's Edna Krabappel

Marcia Wallace, the talented actress and comedienne, has sadly passed away aged 70 from as as yet unknown cause. Many will be more familiar with her most famous character, the laconic, singleton, chain-smoking teacher, Edna Krabappel, whose catchphrase on the long-running cartoon series The Simpsons was "Ha!" Wallace had been involved on the show since it began in 1990.

Marcia Wallace [R] Has Passed Away Aged 70.

Bill Schultz, The Simpsons' award-winning writer and producer paid tribute to her. "She's an icon and a legend, just a hard worker," he told BBC Radio 5 live, via BBC News. "When somebody like that comes onto a show and takes on the character, all of a sudden, you know that character in a three dimensional way. She brings life to something that's written on a page."

Continue reading: Marcia Wallace, Simpsons Voice Actress Of Edna Krabappel, Dies Aged 70

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".

Continue reading: The Simpsons Renewed For A Record 26th Season Confirms Fox

Pans Labyrinth director Guillermo Del Toro has directed The Simpsons opening sequence for Sunday's Treehouse of Horror episode. The Mexican director has reportedly made over 100 references to classic horror movies in the sequence, including The Birds and Blade.

The Simpsons Returns With Its Latest Treehouse of Horror Episode on Sunday

In-keeping with the horror theme, Del Toro's effort sees Chief Wiggum turn into a giant Cyclops inspired by the creations of the late Ray Harryhausen, the man behind the classic skeletons scene in Jason and the Argonauts. The director told Reuters that his sequence was "a love letter to things that I love, both in The Simpsons and the [horror] genre."

Continue reading: Guillermo Del Toro Directs 'The Simpsons' Opening Sequence, For Halloween

Respect the Chemistry: After five seasons, Breaking Bad came to its explosive conclusion on Sunday, finishing Walter White's journey from "Mr Chips to Scarface." Check out which episodes our writers chose as their favorite.

Leaving Vuitton: HUGE news from the fashion world this week, with Marc Jacobs announcing his departure from Louis Vuitton to focus on his own collections. Jacobs has been with the house for 16 years, establishing himself as one of the finest designers of the planet. If not the best. Read more about his departure here.

Continue reading: A Week In News: Breaking Bad Finale, Marc Jacobs Leaving Louis, And Tom Clancy Dies

The Simpsons is still going strong after more than a quarter of a century, but with the threat of it growing stale (again) becoming an ever-likely possibility as the show enters season 26, the writers need to come up with something fresh to keep viewers coming back. After killing off Maude Flanders in season 11, and Homer's Vegas wife in season 16, and five other minor characters throughout the series, the Grim Reaper will be back in Springfield once again, but for who?

Jean wouldn't give much away

Al Jean revealed the morbid plans to The Hollywood Reporter this week, but refused to reveal which character the show's writers were thinking of getting rid of. He told THR, "We are doing this story for the same reason we do all others -- we think it has a good emotional through line...The story will be produced this year though it may air in season 26."

Continue reading: 'The Simpsons' Will Kill Off A Major Character Next Season, But Who?

The Simpsons have been entertaining the masses for a whopping 24 seasons and in that time the only major character to be killed off was Maude Flanders 14 years ago, but it has been announced their will be another major death.

According to The Sun News, executive producer Al Jean is planning to kill a star of the cartoon in the upcoming season.

Jean told the Network, "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”.

Continue reading: The Simpsons Kills Off Main Character For Season 25

As probably the most recognizable TV show of all time, let alone cartoon, we all know that The Simpsons is a marketable asset. Bart’s ‘Eat My Shorts’ and Homer’s ‘Doh!’ are known the world over. That’s why Twentieth Television – one of Ruper Murdoch’s television tentacles – are looking for a cool $1b for reruns of the iconic animation.

Fox aren’t just sitting on a gold mine – they tied up the Simpsons all those years ago on a promise that Groening and his buddies could mock the station at every turn – but they’re sitting on a very unusual one.

Shows usually get syndicated – farmed out to different stations for reruns, think Friends – after 100 episodes, but The Simpsons was one of the only animated shows on the market back then, and people wanted exclusivity.

Continue reading: Want Old Simpsons Episodes? That'll Be A Billion Bucks, Please

He has spent years helping to bring laughter to millions, and now the co-creator of The Simpsons, Sam Simon's actions will benefit others once again. The 58 year-old writer-producer is battling colon cancer which he has been told is terminal however he plans to spend his final days benefitting the lives of humans and animals. Exactly how much time Sam has left is not known, but he doesn't have any children to benefit from his fortune so the needy will benefit from his entire financial legacy.

Simon has revealed that he earns "tens of millions" annually from popular cartoon The Simpsons royalties plans to donate his entire fortune to charity before he passes away, he tells The Hollywood Reporter. He's selected charities he feels strongly about and will make sure they receive the money he intends for them, including a Malibu dog rescue haven, animal charity PETA, Save the Children and marine charity, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. His own Sam Simon Foundation in Malibu is reportedly worth $23 million (£15m) and he feels strongly about shutting down roadside zoos and abusive animal shows. His foundation focusses attention on starving humans - who are given vegan food - and also looks after stray dogs.

Continue reading: Sam Simon, Terminally Ill 'Simpsons' Co-Creator, Donating Entire Fortune To Charity Before Death

Two of the biggest cartoon franchise will meet for the first time as The Simpsons and Family Guy crossover finally becomes a thing. The residents of Springfield have been around for a long time – longer than Peter Griffin and co – so it’s fitting that the Quahog guys visit the home of The Simpsons. “FOX hasn’t spent this much money since they took Simon Cowell tight T-shirt shopping,” said Peter in a statement, while Homer added: “Finally I can get my hands on this guy"

There's all manner of things wrong with this photo

For fans who can’t wait to see what happens when these two animated goliaths cross swords, a handy statement - given to Entertainment Weekly - reads: "Stewie becomes obsessed with Bart and his old-fashioned pranks; Lisa takes Meg under her wing and is determined to find something – anything – at which she excels; Marge and Lois ditch housework for a little bonding; and Peter and Homer fight over the best beer in town – Pawtucket vs Duff."

Continue reading: Clash Of The Cartoons: Simpsons And Family Guy's Crossover Episode

You know a British import has really hit America when it’s parodied on The Simpsons. That’s what’s happened with posh period drama Downton Abbey, which got a serious dose of Groening yellow.

In this spoof, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane takes on the role of a charmer by the name of Ben. He attempts to woo Marge with his love for shows like Downton – stuff that Marge laps up. They meet on a swingers website, although Mrs Simpson thinks it’s a cupcake website. We’ve seen Homer and Marge’s love tested many, many times, but will this season finale see their marriage end? Almost definitely not, but it’s fun to watch. Macfarlane joins this season’s guest stars that include the Icelandic band Sigur Ros, Ed Norton, Justin Bieber, Portlandia cast members Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, and Patton Oswalt. “We thought we had a great part that he’d be perfect for, and it would be great to have him on our show, so it worked out just right,” Simpsons executive producer Al Jean said of MacFarlane. “There’s been a little rivalry. We’re both humor shows and we make jokes, but it’s always been friendly."

Bart and Lisa go ice skating

Continue reading: Simpsons Does Downton Abbey – Simpton Abbey

Margaret Groening – the mother of Simpsons creator Matt Groening and inspiration behind Marge Simpson – has passed away aged 94 in Portland, Oregon. Check out some of Marge’s best moments below.

“Groening, Margaret Ruth 94 March 23, 1919 April 22, 2013 Margaret Groening died peacefully in her sleep on April 22, 2013, in Portland,” reads her obituary in The Oregonian. Since her son created The Simpsons – the world’s most successful cartoon – she has become synonymous with the character of Marge, as well has many of her family members. Her husband, Homer Groening was a war veteran and cartoonist; he passed away in 1996, and his name will ring a bell to you Simpsons fans. Amongst the other recognisable names in the Groening family are his siblings: Lisa and Maggie, his late aunt, Patty and Margaret’s maiden name, Wiggum. Margaret was born on March 23, 1919, in Chisolm, Minn., and supported the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Trail Blazers and many local yarn shops; she was very skilled with a needle.

Continue reading: Marge Simpson Dies! Woman Behind Infamous Simpsons Character Passes Away

This Sunday's episode of The Simpsons will feature one of the more inspired couch gag/opening sequences to usher in the show, with AMC's Breaking Bad being given the yellow treatment in a way that spins the drug pedalling drama completely on its head. The classic opening sequence for the long-running animated series will be dropped completely for one week only as Homer, Marge and Bart set up their own 'drug' empire.

Instead of crystal meth, the renowned blue produce being shipped around by the Simpsons family is a much more prewatershed-friend substance: cupcakes. In the opening sequence, Marge plays the cook whipping up a batch of blue cakes whilst Bart handles distribution, carrying away briefcases full with Marge's goods. Donning large sunglasses and the infamous Heisenberg hat, it's Homer's job to oversee the production process, (from the couch of course) but forgive us for thinking that he may not be up to the task of organising a major operation with such grace and industrious excellence as Bryan Cranston's character does on the AMC show. The whole sequence is soundtracked by the 1969 Tommy James & The Shondells track 'Crystal Blue Persuasion,' the track use on Breaking Bad's mid-season finale as Cranston's Walter White character oversaw his drug empire working in fluid motion.

Continue reading: The Simpsons Take On Breaking Bad For Hilarious Couch Gag Opening Number

Neither Mr Burns, nor The Simpsons, have been particularly politically vocal over the past 20-odd-years, but it seems nuclear power plant owner and all round creepy-guy Mr Burns has found someone worth backing: Mitt "Meat" Romney. 

The video, with a two fold purpose, endorses Romney while also endorsing the return of the new series of The Simpsons, on November 4th 2012. Burns describes "the presidency as the God given right of the Republican party", before his right (or rather, a little more left) hand man lists a few negative points to Romney, including reference to the forcible hair cut and "tax returns that even Wesley Snipes would find suspicious". Burns then brings out Seamus, the Romney family dog, who went on holiday riding on the roof of the car, and asks the dog to choose between Romney's plate of meat, or Obama's paltry plate of shrivelled broccoli, "one of his wife's delicious healthy snacks". 

While probably being just as famous is Lindsay Lohan, Burns' support of Romney may actually prove to be more useful. Only time will tell- and there's not much time left! The US elections take place next week (Nov 6th), as does the return of the new Simpsons series. Exciting week! 

Continue reading: Mr Burns Is Latest Advocate For Mitt Romney

Obama has Clooney, Longoria and Pitt. Romney has, uh, Mr Burns! Yep, the owner of Springfield's nuclear power plant and living embodiment of corporate capitalism has come out in support of the Republican ahead of the U.S. elections next week.

In a YouTube video posted on Fox's channel, C. Montgomery Burns tells Americans that there's only one thing that could possibly deny Mitt Romney the presidency. At this point, his sidekick Smithers interupts, "The 47 per cent tape? The empty chair? The Cayman Islands? Swiss bank accounts? $10,000 bet? I like to fire people? Forcible haircut? The tax returns that Wesley Snipes would call suspicious?" Burns brushes off each suggestion, though says the moment when Romney strapped his dog Shamus to the roof of his car for "650-mile jaunt" could hinder things. However, the billionaire brings Shamus himself on-set, asking him "What did you think about being strapped to the roof of your daddies' car?.....what's that? You liked being tied to the roof of the car? Because it made you see more of this great land of ours? Ripe for drilling and mining and exploiting?" Shamus doesn't seem too happy with the whole thing, jumping through the window when asked to choose between Romney and Obama. "Bring in the next dog!" yells Burns. 

After a couple of weeks off, The Simpsons continues its 24th season on Sunday (November 4, 2012).

Continue reading: Release The Hounds! The Simpsons' Mr Burns Endorses Mitt Romney