In the annals of television, there are but a few shows that have managed to truly transcend the medium’s normal levels of fandom, and become a full-on cultural institution. Despite what one might feel about the quality levels of the most recent seasons, FOX animated mainstay The Simpsons is most definitely one of those shows. Beginning life as a series of short skits on The Tracy Ullman Show, The Simpsons proved popular enough to spawn their own self-titled program in late 1989. Said program has of course gone on to become a global franchise, and one of the longest-running success stories in the history of popular culture.
While arguably far from its glory days, The Simpsons remains one of FOX’s most watched shows, and there is little reason to suspect that this pattern won’t continue into this fall’s season 28. For those keeping score of such things, The Simpsons season 28 will see the venerable comedy cross the massive 600 episode mark, a milestone which quite possibly might never be equaled by another weekly prime time series (with the exception of sports or news-based programming like Monday Night Football or 60 Minutes).
To celebrate this achievement, FXX - the exclusive cable home of Simpsons reruns - has announced plans to air an epic 13-day, 300-hour, 600-episode marathon event. Beginning at 12pm EST on November 24th (aka Thanksgiving Day), FXX will commence airing every single episode of The Simpsons to date, including the first four episodes of season 28. Season 28, episode four - the annual Treehouse of Horror installment - will be the aforementioned 600th Simpsons installment to air, and will have already debuted on FOX by the time the FXX marathon commences.
This is of course not the first time FXX has hosted a marathon of every Simpsons episode ever, as the network first used such an event to celebrate the fact that it had acquired the rights to the entire series run back in 2014. That marathon consisted of 552 episodes, and - as one might logically imagine - broke the all-time record for longest-running binge airing in TV history. That record will obviously now belong to its 2016 sequel. For those who would prefer to watch on their own schedule or on a mobile device, seasons 1-27 are now available to stream through the FX Now app, although those who take that route will still have to contend with ads.
Are most people going to sit and watch a 13-day marathon of TV? No, probably not. The logistics of even attempting to do such a thing are mind-boggling, what with jobs, families, and other life responsibilities that most people manage on a daily basis. Still, as a promotional gimmick, the idea is pretty cool, and it’s a safe bet that many Simpsons fans will have their DVRs working overtime during the marathon in the hopes of catching their all-time favorite episodes.
The Simpsons season 28 premieres September 25 on FOX. The FXX marathon begins on November 24 at noon.
Source: FXX
