As The Simpsons gears up to return for the second half of its 36th season, one of the show’s stars is commemorating a landmark occasion for the series. Yeardley Smith, who has voiced Lisa Simpson on the series since its debut in 1989, posted a photo on social media on Feb. 20 to celebrate a milestone episode of the long-running animated series.

Smith posted a photo on the social media site, X, holding up a script for the 800th episode of The Simpsons, for which the cast was seemingly doing a table read before shooting the episode. Smith captioned the photo: “Today we’re reading #800! Which of the 700-something [The Simpsons] episodes is your all-time favorite?”

The Simpsons Started in 1989

So far, in its run on Fox, The Simpsons has aired 781 episodes, per IMDb. Season No. 36 returns with new episodes on March 30. It remains one of the longest-running series in American television history. In comparison, Law & Order has amassed 518 episodes since its 1990 debut. Fellow animated series Family Guy and South Park have aired 434 and 327 episodes since their respective debuts in 1999 and 1997.\

The Simpsons (1989-)

Related

10 Banned Simpsons Episodes (& Where You Can Watch Them)

While The Simpsons is often seen as pretty tame, there are a few episodes that were deemed too offensive for TV. But, fans can still watch them.

Another Simpsons Actor is Concerned for the Future

Hank Azaria, who has voiced countless characters on The Simpsons in 770 episodes, recently went on the record about the future of artificial intelligence and voice-over work. Azaria voices characters like Chief Wiggum, Moe, and Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons. In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, Azaria said he was worried about AI possibly leaving him without a job.

“I imagine that soon enough, artificial intelligence will be able to recreate the sounds of the more than 100 voices I created for characters on The Simpsons for almost four decades,” wrote Azaria in the piece. “It makes me sad to think about it. Not to mention, it seems just plain wrong to steal my likeness or sound – or anyone else’s,” he added.

A “Lack of Humanness”

Azaria has also voiced characters on Family Guy, Bordertown, Futurama, Spider-Man, and many other series. He said he’s worried about the “lack of humanness” if studios move toward AI. “What will the lack of humanness sound like?” he said. “How big will the difference be? I honestly don’t know, but I think it will be enough, at least in the near term, that we’ll notice something is off, in the same way that we notice something’s amiss in a subpar film or TV show. It adds up to a sense that what we’re watching isn’t real, and you don’t need to pay attention to it,” he added.

Related

The Simpsons’ Showrunner Explains What Led to the Fake Series Finale

The Simpsons’ showrunner Matt Selman gives fans the details behind what led to the false series finale/36th season premiere.

Season 36 Continues in March

The Simpsons 800th episode doesn’t have a set premiere date as of yet. The second half of the 36th season of The Simpsons premieres on March 30 on Fox. All 35 past seasons of the series are streaming on Disney+.

Source: X