In a recent conference call, Al Jean spoke about what we can expect to see from both season 20 of The Simpsons and the show’s future in general. Jean spoke about the possible return of Plopper the Pig from The Simpsons Movie, writing for the character of Ned Flanders, another Simpsons movie which may be in the works, The Simpsons Ride and even the possibility of the Simpson kids ever growing up. Read our summary of the entire call below.

On Plopper, the Spider Pig

• Spider pig might be coming back! But he was definitely made for the movie. Plopper might show up in the show for a cameo.

On science fiction spoofs

• In March, Homer, while buying poison to kill some rats (they look like Ratatouille), leaves Maggie on a convent porch, turning the episode into a Da Vinci and National Treasure spoof. 3D Homer again? Perhaps.

On going into Season 20

• Yes, we do keep track of other shows and how long they’ve gone. After season 20, there will be more than 500 episodes in the can.

A Simpsons spin-off?

• Yes, there has been talk of it, but it would be very difficult to attempt to do both and still concentrate on the show. We like the big universe of the show as it exists.

On Ned Flanders

• We love to write for him because he’s so much fun. In an upcoming episode where the Simpson’s house gets foreclosed, Ned buys it and rents it back to them.

On another Simpsons movie

• Will there be a follow-up? Perhaps if there was a good script, but the first one took four years. My preference would be that it would air after the series itself has finished, of which there are no plans any time soon.

On other animated shows

• Other cartoons have followed the Simpsons – does Family Guy appeal to the lowest common denominator? How does The Simpsons rise above that?
• From the beginning, Sam Simon said we would write a show for adults, as smart and as connected with human emotion as possible. It’s the golden age for TV animation right now. We’re outrageous, but we’ve tried from the beginning to intelligently depict family challenges.

Are there “phases” of the show?

• Not really, we’ve won a ton of awards lately, but there are no eras, we just try to keep the show’s standard as high as possible.

Upcoming guest stars

• The Simpsons go to Ireland. Homer and Grandpa go to a bar and attempt to purchase it. Kenneth Branagh will have a cameo as the pub owner.

On the Simpsons ride

• Simpsons ride in Orlando and Hollywood exceeded expectations; longest wait time for any ride at Universal, lots of writers worked on those rides.

Will the Simpson kids ever grow up?

• Will the kids ever grow up? While the Simpson kids should have become teenagers long ago, in terms as the basic template for the show, no.

Source: Stewie’s Playground

SOURCE: Simpsons Channel

IGN TV: I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but could you imagine this show would go this long at the beginning?

Al Jean: No, I was hoping for five years. I mean I’d worked on Alf, and that ran four [years]. And here we are. But now I don’t even know. You know, I’m very sure they’ll be a 19th season, and then I don’t know. Still, the numbers are good.

SOURCE: IGN TV

Don’t miss The A.V. Club’s interview with Matt Groening

SOURCE: The AV Club

“I took several animation and design tests my senior year at RISD in 1990 for ‘The Simpsons’,” Wilder said. “I contacted them when I’d heard they had been picked up for another season and needed artists. I really felt the show had great writing, character and the potential to maybe go 3-5 seasons. After several weeks of trial and error I got offered the job of Background Designer, so I have been designing and supervising for the last 16 seasons.” Read More >>>

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David Mirkin: “We made the deal with the actors for four years, including the year we are just completing now, so in theory we should be able to get up to season 20 with people still enjoying the show. And that’s an important consideration for us. We don’t want to wear out our welcome. Right now the deal is in place to hopefully get us to the twentieth season. But like I said, it’s important not to just go there, but to maintain the quality of it. And that’s really what we try and kill ourselves to do.” Read More >>>

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