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   'The Simpsons' showrunner reveals how show will end   
   The long-running series recently aired its milestone 700th episode   
   Canoe.com   
   Nov 16, 2021   
      
   The series finale of The Simpsons is still many years away. But with the   
   show hitting its stride in its current 33rd season, showrunner Al Jean   
   has shared his thoughts as to how the long-running animated show should   
   come to an end.   
      
   In an interview with Radio Times on Sunday, Jean -- who has been part of   
   the series since the beginning -- said: "There would be an ending where   
   they (the Simpsons) would be going back to the Christmas pageant from   
   the first episode ( Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire ), so that the   
   whole series was a continuous loop -- that's how I would end it, if I   
   had to."   
      
   The show, which debuted on Dec. 17, 1989, is the longest-running   
   primetime series in TV history and is credited by some with predicting   
   the future, including Donald Trump becoming U.S. president and the 9/11   
   attacks.   
      
   In March, 2020, fans pointed to a May 6, 1993, episode titled Marge in   
   Chains -- which featured a fictitious disease dubbed the "Osaka Flu"   
   that everyone contracts after an ill factory worker in Japan coughs on   
   boxes that are shipped to Springfield -- as proof that the series saw   
   the coronavirus pandemic coming.   
      
   Bill Oakley, a co-writer on the episode spoke to The Hollywood Reporter   
   denouncing claims that the show had predicted the pandemic.   
      
   "The idea that anyone misappropriates it to make coronavirus seem like   
   an Asian plot is terrible. In terms of trying to place blame on Asia --   
   I think that is gross," Oakley said.   
      
   Oakley went on to downplay the notion that the series acts as a   
   modern-day Nostradamus saying, "It's mainly just coincidence because the   
   episodes are so old that history repeats itself. Most of these episodes   
   are based on things that happened in the '60s, '70s or '80s that we knew   
   about."   
      
   Earlier this year, a viral Facebook post credited the show with   
   predicting the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots in a 1996 episode titled The Day the   
   Violence Died. More recently, fans claimed the show referenced the   
   Astroworld tragedy after digital fan art from 2018 resurfaced.   
      
   But with no end to the series in sight, Jean thinks there will be plenty   
   of more times fans will be able to find ways the show has had foresight   
   into the future.   
      
   "To be honest ... especially as we're doing really well on Disney+ ... I   
   don't see anybody going, 'Let's wrap it up, or figure out how to get out   
   of it' at the moment," he said.   
      
   After it recently celebrated its 700th episode, Jean goes on to add he   
   would be happy to see the show reach its 1,000th episode -- something   
   that won't happen until sometime in 2033.   
      
   "I'll be very happy to be here in 12 seasons' time," he said.   
      
   #   
      
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