FOX's long-running animated series is about to be stopped short on its tracks.

Due to the ongoing WGA strike, The Simpsons is in danger of not being able to complete its current season, as not enough episodes have been completed in order for the show to survive the strike.

Because each episode of The Simpsons takes a significant amount of time to make, show executives have been unable to create a backlog that will last them through the strike, which has caused several television shows – old or new, hit or miss – to shut down production.

"We don't usually have as many shows ahead as other animated series. We have about 10 episodes in the pipeline, in various stages of completion,” Yeardley Smith, who provides the voice for child protégé Lisa Simpson on the show, revealed. "The question is whether any of them will be ready in time to air before the season ends in May."

Despite the forthcoming trouble, Smith is convinced that this season, which happens to be The Simpsons' nineteenth, is the best yet.

"[They are] really strong,” Smith added. “Journalists were writing for a while that The Simpsons seemed to have lost its sass. I think in the last couple of seasons, we've gone back to what makes it so strong - the 'take no prisoners' attitude, the depth of character."

So far, only ten episodes of the show's current season has aired.  The next new episode, “That 90's Show,” is scheduled to air next Sunday, January 27.  It will feature guest stars singer-songwriter Weird Al Yankovic and Kurt Loder.

That last fresh Simpsons installment aired on January 6.  The episode, "E. Pluribus Wiggum," featured The Daily Show host Jon Stewart and former CBS News anchor Dan Rather as guest stars.  The two played themselves as part of a storyline that made Springfield the first in the country to hold primary elections.


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: World Entertainment News Network
(Image Courtesy of FOX)