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, ...

'' is an American animated television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

created by Matt Groening for

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 ...

. It is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

depiction of a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

, which consists of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

, Bart,

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

, and

Maggie Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...

. The show is set in the fictional town of

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, and lampoons American culture, society, and television, as well as many aspects of the human condition. Later released on the 2001 DVD ''The Simpsons – The Complete First Season'' by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of

animated shorts A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

with producer

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

. 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 Fox series ''

The Tracey Ullman Show ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, the network's second original primetime series to air following '' Married... with Children'', and ran until May 26, ...

'' on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime-time show that was an early hit for Fox. Throughout the years, many episodes of the show have been released on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. When the first season DVD was released in 2001, it quickly became the best-selling television DVD set in history, although it was later overtaken by the first season of ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were th ...

''. The first twenty seasons are available on DVD in Regions 1, 2, and 4, with the twentieth season released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2010 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series. ''

The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman and stars the show's regular cast of Dan Caste ...

'', a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and was later available on DVD and Blu-ray worldwide on December 3, 2007 and on December 18, 2007 in the U.S. On April 8, 2015, show runner Al Jean announced that there would be no more DVD or Blu-ray releases, shifting focus to digital distribution. Two years later, following fan protest, season 18 was released on December 5, 2017 on DVD with the possibility of further seasons if sales were strong enough. Two years later, season 19 was released on DVD on December 3, 2019. Also on December 3, 2019, a limited-edition DVD collection consisting of seasons 1-20, limited to 1,000 units, was released.

Overview

Full season sets

DVD

Blu-ray

Compilations

VHS

DVD

References

{{The Simpsons

Home video releases A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

Simpsons, The