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The Empire State Building Shines Yellow To Celebrate 30 Years Of 'The Simpsons'

The Empire State Building Shines Yellow To Celebrate 30 Years Of 'The Simpsons'

The landmark lit up to honor the show that's been on the air for an impressive three decades. Ay caramba!

Rachael Grealish

Rachael Grealish

It was 17 December 1989 when the world got its first real helping of The Simpsons. We all know the story - cartoonist Matt Groening's series of animated shorts got its first feature-length special, which saw Homer losing out on a Christmas bonus but gaining a new family member in the form of Bart's canine pal, Santa's Little Helper.

Since then The Simpsons has become the longest-running American sitcom, and the country's longest-running scripted primetime TV show ever. Now, with 649 episodes and 30 seasons under its belt, and to celebrate the show going into its 30th year, New York City's Empire State Building glowed as yellow as the family itself.

This isn't the only time the famous Manhattan building has lit up for America's favourite family - back in 2007, Groening took the family to the big screen with The Simpsons Movie, and the Empire State Building also decked itself out in yellow lights then, to celebrate its release.

The Empire State was decked out in yellow lights in honour of The Simpsons.
NYC Mayors Office

It seems only right to celebrate the show as it really has made television history, creating some endlessly quotable episodes in the process. It's also won dozens of awards in the process, including 33 Emmy awards, 30 Annie Awards and 11 Writers Guild of America Awards.

Though the Simpson family haven't exactly aged alongside us (Bart is still 11; Homer and Marge appear to have spent their early years as parents variously in the 70s, 80s and 90s), chances are you've grown up alongside the show and share the same reference points as everyone else you know - from Homer's adventures as Mr Plow, or in space, to Maggie's first word and Bart creating 'Angry Dad', we've been through it all, and that's not even looking at some of the amazing 'Treehouse of Horror' specials they've knocked out over the years.

Work is currently under way for the show's 31st season, due to arrive in 2019, but it had much more humble beginnings as a series of shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show back in 1987.

via GIPHY

Also remarkable is the fact that the show's core voiceover cast have remained loyal to it throughout, with Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Groundskeeper Willie), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart, Nelson Muntz), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe Szyzlak, Chief Wiggum) and Harry Shearer (Mr Burns, Waylon Smithers) all still involved to this day.

It's hard to say how long The Simpsons will continue to survive, with the TV landscape in a state of flux thanks to the rise of online streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon - but for 30 years it's been going strong, which is a remarkable achievement by anyone's standards.

Of course, there are some who'd now argue there are more bad episodes than good, but that's another conversation for another day...

Featured Image Credit: Fox/NYC Mayors Office

Topics: TV and Film, the simpsons, UK Entertainment, US Entertainment, Fox