‘The Simpsons’ Nearly Had an Unexpected Spinoff, Former Showrunner Reveals

At one point, The Simpsons was very close to getting a spinoff. It’s hard to believe that in the show’s 34 years, there has never been another series in the franchise. There’s been a movie, a Universal Studios ride, comic books, video games, and even insane predictions, but never another show. But it’s not like it hasn’t ever been discussed. Josh Weinstein, who served as an executive producer, writer, and showrunner on The Simpsons from 1992 to 1998, shared a video from the Season 4 episode “The Front” on Twitter. He explained that it inspired them to do the Season 7 episode, “22 Short Films About Springfield.”

The episode depicted a wide variety of Springfield residents in a series of interconnected stories. Weinstein later replied to a fan who brought up the idea of doing more episodes like that. Ones that focus more on other side characters instead of just the Simpsons. He admitted the episode “was the idea behind the spinoff ‘Springfield’ that we and Matt Groenig talked about doing in the late 90s. We felt there were enough fleshed-out side characters that many of them could carry their own full stories. The Simpsons would appear ‘Where’s Waldo’ like in the background.”

Even though the spinoff never went to series, The Simpsons still teased its potential. Collider points out that the Season 8 episode, “The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase” included a variety of potential spin-offs. Along with the Springfield residents, it also included a possible crime show and a sitcom. While a spin-off hasn’t happened yet, that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t ever happen. The Simpsons is still going strong, with Season 35 premiering this October. So you never know what else could be in store for the residents of Springfield.

That being said, it’s not like a spin-off of The Simpsons is necessary. The series is still doing pretty well for a reason. So it’s not like fans are getting tired of only getting the focus on Homer, Marg, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, plus some side characters. It would be nice to get something new every once in a while, but maybe another Springfield-focused episode is long overdue. Although Josh Weinstein hasn’t worked on the series for a while, maybe he could even come back to write it again. In the meantime, fans will just have to look forward to the upcoming 35th season as part of Fox’s 2023 fall schedule.