The Simpsons executive producer Matt Selman has issued a statement after fans reacted in shock to the apparent death of Marge Simpson.
In the finale of the beloved animated show’s 36th season, an episode set 35 years in the future depicts Homer kneeling at his wife’s grave, with a tombstone reading, “Beloved wife, mother, pork‑chop seasoner,” as Sarah McLachlan sings “Marge passed before Homer, if you can believe it.”
However, Selman told Variety that Marge’s death cannot be considered canon because: “There is no canon. The Simpsons doesn’t even have canon!”
He pointed to the numerous contradictory flash-forwards that have happened over the years, saying: “Obviously since theThe Simpsons future episodes are all speculative fantasies, they’re all different every time. Marge will probably never be dead ever again. The only place Marge is dead is in one future episode that aired six weeks ago.”
Selman, who has been writing for The Simpsons since 1997, went on to suggest that the furore had been stoked by misleading headlines, saying: “Here’s my take: Websites need traffic, and headlines equal traffic. And then you can explain that the headline was misleading at the very end of the article. Every single media outlet that ran this story knew that in no way was Marge dead. They all knew it, but they ran the headline anyway.”
He added that the attention the stories received does at least illustrate The Simpsons still occupies a place in the cultural zeitgeist. “I guess this speaks to the fact that people care about Marge,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s probably good for business even when these ridiculous, misleading stories go viral!”
In the latest flash-forward episode, titled Estranger Things, the Simpsons family is fractured; Lisa has become the commissioner of the NBA, while Bart runs an unlicensed retirement home, where Homer lives, seemingly abandoned.
Later, Marge appears in a pre-recorded message to urge the two siblings to reconcile, which they eventually do. The episode then ends with Marge watching her children reunite from heaven, now married to her longtime crush, Ringo Starr.
“I’m just so happy my kids are close again,” Marge says. “I’m just so glad we’re allowed to marry different people in heaven,” she tells Starr, as the two kiss and leave for the “Heaven Buffet”.
The Simpsons has already been renewed for four more seasons, which means the long-running show is set to exceed 800 episodes.
