Why The Simpsons killed off popular character after 35 years on the show

TV show deaths are sometimes the most devastating scenes to come across.

You spend years of your life watching someone, only for them to die right in front of your eyes.

For fans of The Simpsons, they haven’t had to deal with many of these moments, but there was one that stuck with everyone due to how unexpected it was.

Everyone remembers the beloved drunk character and a regular at Moe’s Tavern, Larry the Barfly, aka Larry Dalrymple.

He has brought many laughs over the years, especially due to his ramblings and penchant for drinking Duff beer like it’s water with the gang.

However, in episode 765, the show runners made the bold decision to pull the trigger on a character that was popular among the show's fanbase for 35 years.

During 'Cremains the Day', Larry suddenly drops dead at the bar.

Larry the Barfly was the latest Simpsons character to die. Disney

What follows this is a touching moment between Homer, Moe, Lenny and Carl at Larry's funeral, when they realise that they know next to nothing about their long-time friend.

And fans were gutted about this twist in the show’s arc and were quick to call out the show for breaking their hearts.

They shared on X their thoughts on his death.

One user wrote a day before the episode aired: "Just learned they are killing off Larry on The Simpsons tomorrow. I need a minute.”

While another said: "Really enjoyed last night's Simpsons episode. But I couldn't stop wondering why there was no mention of Larry's best friend, Sam."

A third said: "Holy s**t Larry from the Simpsons died, rest in peace my drunken king."

This led to co-executive producer Tim Long telling TMZ that he’s ‘sorry’ for upsetting fans and that his death was meant to pack a punch to fans.

But why did they choose Larry of all people?

The group mourn the loss of Larry the Barfly. Disney

Long went on to share that he wanted to ‘hit the audience hard’ with Larry’s death, because despite his minimal role in The Simpsons, he was beloved.

He shared to Variety in an email: “I'm sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry's death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn't take anyone for granted.”

It can be seen in the subsequent scenes after his death that it pulls together the Tavern crew to think about their friend, how they treated him and how they could manage such a long relationship without gaining any personal details about him.

It was meant to be a self-reflective moment for the characters, and it did exactly that.

In his email, Long added: "To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became Larry’s life like the way he left it: drunk, lonely, and with a butt full of sapphires."