The thirtieth season of the animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' premiered on Fox in the United States on September 30, 2018, and ended on May 12, 2019.

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

returns as showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season.

Matt Selman Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...

also contributed as showrunner for the episodes "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being ...

", "

Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Si ...

", " The Clown Stays in the Picture" and " Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy". The series hit a milestone 650th episode on January 6, 2019 with the episode "

Mad About the Toy "Mad About the Toy" is the eleventh episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 650th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on January 6, 2019. The episode won the Primetim ...

", and the season also saw both the renewal of the series for two additional seasons on February 6, and the acquisition of the majority of 21st Century Fox's assets (which includes the show itself) by Disney on March 20.

30th Anniversary

The series celebrated its thirtieth anniversary with a 15-hour marathon on the channel

FXX FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fe ...

starting December 9, 2018. Airing 30 handpicked episodes by showrunner

. Additionally,

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (titled onscreen as "The Simpsons Christmas Special") is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Intro ...

, the show's first episode, re-aired on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

on December 23, 2018.

Episodes

Production

Casting

This season also features the first episode written by voice actor

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

with the episode " Girl's in the Band", making her the third of the six main cast members to have an episode to their name (

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...

having cowritten many scripts since season 11 and

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

writing the

season 28 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

episode "

Trust But Clarify "Trust but Clarify" is the fifth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 601st episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 23, 2016, making it the ...

"). This also makes her the first female main cast member credited with a writing credit, and the season overall hit a new high for women writers with ten females with episodes credited to them, including two scripts from

Megan Amram Megan Amram (born September 3, 1987) is an American comedy writer, producer, and performer. She is most known for her work as co-writer and producer for the NBC series '' The Good Place''. Amram created and starred in the comedy web series, ''An ...

and a joint script by veteran Simpsons writer Jeff Martin and his daughter Jenna Martin. For the

eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

-themed episode "

E My Sports "E My Sports" is the seventeenth episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 656th episode overall. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Rob LaZebnik. It aired in the Unit ...

" the show's producers hired ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

'' developers

Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...

as consultants in order to get the eSports referenced in the show as authentic as possible. The season features guest appearances from Dave Attel, Emily Deschanel,

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter she ...

Jonathan Groff Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985) is an American actor and singer . He began his career on Broadway, rising to prominence for his portrayal of Melchior Gabor in the original production of '' Spring Awakening'' (2006-2008), for which h ...

Pete Holmes Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Musings on spirituality and religion are frequent themes in his works. Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, ...

Rhys Darby Rhys Montague Darby (born 21 March 1974) is a New Zealand actor and comedian, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nominated for ...

Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his television work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1996–2003) and for his role as Tracy Jordan in the sitcom ''30 Rock'' (2006 ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

Bryan Batt Bryan Batt (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor best known for his role in the AMC series ''Mad Men'' as Salvatore Romano, an art director for the Sterling Cooper agency. Primarily a theater actor, he has had a number of starring roles in mo ...

Lawrence O'Donnell Lawrence Francis O'Donnell Jr. (born November 7, 1951) is an American television anchor, actor, liberal political commentator, and host of '' The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'', an MSNBC opinion and news program that airs on weeknights. H ...

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ...

Awkwafina Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ra ...

Chelsea Peretti Chelsea Vanessa Peretti (born February 20, 1978) is an American comedian, actress, television writer, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for portraying Gina Linetti in the comedy series '' Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' and writing for '' Parks and ...

Nicole Byer Nicole Byer (born August 29, 1986) is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series ''Nailed It!'' (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award no ...

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywo ...

Illeana Douglas Illeana Hesselberg (born July 25, 1961 or 1965), known professionally as Illeana Douglas, is an American actress and filmmaker. She appeared in three episodes of '' Six Feet Under'', for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as O ...

and

Jenny Slate Jenny Sarah Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the ...

. The episode "

" saw George Segal reprising the role of Nick from ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' that he had originally played 52 years earlier, musician

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

provides the singing voice for longtime character

Professor Frink Professor John I.Q. Nerdelbaum Frink Jr., is a new recurring character in the Animated cartoon, animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the 1991 episode "Old Money (The Simpsons episode), Ol ...

, musician Dave Matthews gives voice to Lloyd the bartender from '' The Shining'' and the five main cast members of ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who r ...

'' also reprised their roles for a crossover couch gag in the episode "

My Way or the Highway to Heaven "My Way or the Highway to Heaven" is the 642nd episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the third episode of season 30. Plot In heaven, in apparent homage to the show's traditional opening segment’s couch gags, G ...

". Several prior guest stars returned this season, including longtime recurring guest star

Jon Lovitz Jonathan Michael Lovitz (; born July 21, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990. Lovitz starred as Jay Sherman in '' The Critic'' and played a baseball scout in '' A League of ...

in various roles, two stints from actor

J. K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...

to make his 4th and 5th appearances in the series, Scott Thompson returning for his fourth time as Grady, comedian

Jackie Mason Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Maza; yi, יעקב משה מזא; June 9, 1928 – July 24, 2021) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. His 1986 one-man show ''The World According to Me!'' won a Special Tony Award, an Outer Critics Cir ...

reprising his role as Rabbi Krustofsky once more, and

Terry Gross Terry Gross (born February 14, 1951) is an American journalist who is the host and co-executive producer of '' Fresh Air'', an interview-based radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed nationally by NPR. Since joining N ...

and

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

appearing as themselves.

Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she r ...

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

and

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

all returned to roles they had previously performed once before playing Sophie Krustofsky, King Toot and Walter Hotenhoffer respectively.

Reception

Ratings

Controversy

The show came under fire for the episode " D'oh Canada" in late April 2019. While the episode mocked American and Canadian heads of government

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

and brought up the SNC-Lavalin affair, the aspects that caused offense were largely related to a

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

parody song where Homer made fun of

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

and for the use of the slur "

newfie ''Newfie'' (also ''Newf'' or sometimes ''Newfy'') is a colloquial term used by Canadians for someone who is from Newfoundland. Some Newfoundlanders, consider "Newfie" as a slur used by American and Canadian military forces stationed on the isl ...

" in relation to Canadian residents of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. In the latter several Canadian children chime "stupid newfies" before a character closely resembling

Ralph Wiggum Ralph Wiggum is a recurring character on the animated series, ''The Simpsons.'' He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Ralph, The son of Police Chief Wiggum, is a classmate of Lisa Simpson and is noted for his frequent non-sequiturs and humorous beh ...

calls himself one and proceeds to beat a baby seal pup plush toy with a club while singing about being a Newfoundlander. Musician Bruce Moss rejected an offer from the show's producers to use his song "The Islander" for the episode, referring to them as "morally bankrupt" and turning down $20,000 US.

Accolades

In February 2019, writer Stephanie Gillis won the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the

71st Writers Guild of America Awards The 71st Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best in film, television, radio and video-game writing of 2018. Winners were announced on February 17, 2019 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California and the Edison Ballroom, New Y ...

for penning the season premiere episode "

Bart's Not Dead "Bart's Not Dead" is the thirtieth season premiere and 640th episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. In this episode, Bart fakes a miracle and is approached by a Christian filmmaker who wants to make an adaptation of ...

". On July 16, 2019 it was announced that the show had received two nominations for the

71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2018, until May 31, 2019, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ...

, with the episode "Mad About the Toy" being nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series. In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which ...

and cast member

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Sna ...

getting a nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. In 2014, the award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance was separated into two categories – Outstanding Narrator and Outst ...

for the episode "

From Russia Without Love "From Russia Without Love" is the 645th episode of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the sixth episode of season 30. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by Michael Ferris. Plot Concerned that they a ...

" playing the characters

Moe Szyslak Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender of M ...

Carl Carlson The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

Duffman Barry Huffman, more commonly known by his work name Duffman, is a character on the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is the mascot and chief spokesperson for Duff Beer. It has been referenced, however, that the corporate mascot "Duffman" has ...

and

Kirk Van Houten The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

. The winners were announced on September 14, 2019 at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, where "Mad About the Toy" won the show its 11th award in the category, while Hank Azaria lost to

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...

for his performances in the animated series ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons (season 30) Simpsons season 30 2018 American television seasons 2019 American television seasons