The Simpsons celebrates 500 episodes The Simpsons is celebrating its 500th episode this month, and the cast and creators got together at a swank Hollywood party on Monday night. Stars Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart were in character as they walked the yellow carpet rolled out to mark the milestone. For creator Matt Groening, the evening was a chance to reflect on how it all started. "The audience that came to the taping of the 'Tracy Allman' show liked the cartoon a lot," explained Groening. Fox executives went, 'Umm,' and so they gave us a chance. They said that they wanted to do a holiday special. We said 'No,' we wanted 13 episodes. They said, 'Ok, 4 holiday specials.' We said, '13.' So they took a chance. They gave us 13 episodes without a pilot and it worked. The animated series that debuted in 1989, has gone on to become the longest running scripted television series, earning numerous awards and influencing pop culture. "The Simpsons" 500th episode will air on February 19th on the Fox Network.