The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a working-class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family (Simpson family), which consists of Homer (Homer Simpson), Marge (Marge Simpson), Bart (Bart Simpson), Lisa (Lisa Simpson), and Maggie (Maggie Simpson). The show is set in the fictional city of Springfield (Springfield (The Simpsons)), and lampoons American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts (The Simpsons shorts) with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989-1990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989 the show has broadcast 464 episodes (List of The Simpsons episodes) and the twenty-first season (The Simpsons (season 21)) finished airing on May 23, 2010. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and grossed US$527 million worldwide.

The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 25 Primetime Emmy Awards, 26 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. Time (TIME) magazines December 31, 1999 issue named it the 20th centurys best television series, and on January 14, 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons is the longest-running (List of longest running US television series) American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 (2009 in American television) it surpassed Gunsmoke (Gunsmoke#Television version) as the longest running American primetime entertainment series. Homers exclamatory catchphrase "Doh!" has been adopted into the English lexicon, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.