While The Simpsons appears to be a long way off from ending - having lasted for more than three decades on our small screens - showrunner Al Jean has detailed how he would conclude the classic animated sitcom... if he really had to.

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The series first aired in the US in 1989 (and on Sky in the UK in 1990) and was recently renewed until 2023 - although Jean previously disclosed that the series almost ended in 2011 with season 23 - and it's likely to conclude the way it was conceived.

"I mentioned that there would be an ending where the last episode, they'd be going back to the Christmas pageant from the first episode [Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire], so that the whole series was a continuous loop - that's how I would end it, if I had to," Jean told RadioTimes.com.

"But to be honest, the talk of ending, especially as we're doing really well on Disney Plus in the US and the UK and other countries in the Americas, I don't see anybody going, 'let's wrap it up, or figure out how to get out of it' at the moment'. I think we're the number one scripted show in the US, and with the new episodes as well."

The show recently celebrated its milestone 700th episode, and on whether we'll be celebrating 1,000 episodes in the near future, Jean added: "I calculated that if we make it to 1,000 episodes, that's 12 more seasons... So I'll just be saying, I'll be very happy to be here in 12 seasons' time... [but] it's not just a hop, skip and a jump, it's a little further than that..."

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Meanwhile, The Simpsons is celebrating its latest animated short with a big crossover, The Simpsons in Plusaversary to coincide with Disney Plus Day on Friday. Described as Springfield's event of the year, the animated short features the Simpsons hosting a Disney Plus Day party and everyone is on the list… except Homer.

"We really wanted to get as many Disney Pixar characters as we possibly could - we wanted to explore the friendship between Homer and Goofy, which I think we did, and we were asked to write a Disney song, which we did in a very left-handed way and so all our ambitions were met and we hope people enjoyed it as much as we did making it," Jean added.

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The Simpsons in Plusaversary is out on Disney Plus now. You can sign up to Disney Plus with an annual subscription for £79.90 or £7.99 a month, or take advantage of a special deal for £1.99 for one month until 14th November.

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