Ay caramba! Thirty seasons of "The Simpsons." 
 
 The long-time sitcom is getting longer as Fox renewed the series for an unprecedented 29th and 30th season on Friday. 
 
 This means that Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie will get to 669 episodes becoming the largest number of episodes for any scripted television show, breaking the record held by "Gunsmoke," which aired 635 episodes. 
 
 "Take that 'Gunsmoke!' You lost a race you didn't even know you were running!" a very animated Homer Simpson said in a statement. 
 
 Al Jean, the executive producer and showrunner of the series who was one of the show's original writers, told CNN that over the long course of the series the cast and crew are just trying to put on the best show they can. 
 
 "To be honest, just from the beginning, we've always been trying to do the best episode possible 669 times in a row," Jean said. 
 
 The animated series, which is in its 28th season, just crossed a major milestone hitting its 600th episode. Yet, the impact of the series has "embiggened" pop culture in ways that very little else has. 
 
 Related: 'The Simpsons' and the art of being in a class of your own 
 
 "The Simpsons" have produced a movie that made more than $500 million, theme parks, countless yellow merchandise, and an online video site that showcases each and every episode. 
 
 It has also been dubbed the greatest TV show ever, has been studied in universities, and has won 32 Emmys. 
 
 And after being on air since 1989, the series still brings in solid ratings for Fox. 
 
 So just how long can America's favorite animated family go? 
 
 "I think our new motto is 'on to sixty,'" Jean said. ||||| Homer Simpson, left, and his wife, Marge, are looking pretty good after Fox picked up 'The Simpsons' for seasons 29 and 30. (Photo: Fox) 
 
 The Simpsons are going to the record books. 
 
 The animated classic is set to pass the legendary Gunsmoke — Homer Simpson outduels Matt Dillon! — as the scripted TV series with the most episodes after Fox renewed it for seasons 29 and 30 on Friday. Gunsmoke, a long-running CBS western, sits at 635, with The Simpsons reaching the 600-episode milestone with last month's "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween episode. 
 
 In the press-release world of canned statements, Fox offered one from Homer: “Take that, Gunsmoke! You lost a race you didn't even know you were running!” 
 
 After a 1989 Christmas special, The Simpsons (Sunday, 8 ET/PT), launched as a series on Jan. 14, 1990, winning 32 Emmys, a Peabody and an Oscar nomination (for the theatrical short, The Longest Daycare) over the course of its run. The series, executive-produced by creator Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Al Jean, also spawned a hit feature film and a popular amusement-park ride. 
 
 In addition to Homer, Fox executives celebrated, too. 
 
 “This is yet another record-setting moment for what is truly a landmark series,” said Dana Walden and Gary Newman, chairmen of the Fox Television Group. “The Simpsons has meant so much to the network, the studio and everyone at Fox, and its continued cultural impact around the globe is a testament to the combined brilliance of Matt, Jim and Al. Congratulations to everyone who works on this groundbreaking series. … And to the millions of fans around the world, thank you for watching all these years. We’re happy to tell you there’s lots more to come.” 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2f2f5QZ ||||| Twenty-four seasons into its run, The Simpsons is finally headed to cable. In a competitive situation with five networks bidding, FXX has landed the exclusive cable as well as VOD/non-linear rights to the longest-running comedy series in TV history. The deal also is set to make TV history as the priciest off-network pact ever, expected to fetch at least $750 million, and the first one to include full digital rights. The enormous size of the deal — which some say could potentially reach $1 billion if the series keeps producing new seasons — stems from the staggering volume of Simpsons episodes available: 530 when the show starts airing on FXX in August 2014 and growing to 574 by September 2015. At the start, FXX will have access to the first 24 seasons, with another season added when it gets off-circulation on Fox, which recently greenlighted a 26th season. For instance, Season 25 will become available on FXX when Season 26 premieres on Fox next September. 
 
 Exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed but insiders estimate that FXX would be paying about $1.25 million per week, with the length of the agreement said to be about a decade (at least eight years, possibly 10). “The Simpsons is indisputably one of the greatest shows in television history,” said FX Networks CEO John Landgraf. “This was a very long, hard and complicated negotiation and I credit the relentlessness and diligence of Chuck Saftler for getting it done.” Said FX Networks COO Saftler, “Woo Hoo!” He called the back-and-forth “the longest negotiations that I am aware of for an off-network series” that took a month from the first offer to sealing a “landmark” deal. “This is a historic deal for FXX and FX Networks and I don’t believe there will ever be another one like it,” Saftler said. Besides the sheer volume, unprecedented is the granting of full VOD/non-linear rights to a cable network in conjunction with an off-network agreement, which normally gives nets rolling 5-6 episodes. In this case, FXNOW, the soon-to-be-launched authenticated mobile viewing app of FX Networks, will offer all seasons of The Simpsons that are available on FXX. As for that staggering volume of 574 episodes and counting? While a typical syndicated show that has produced 100 episodes is on a 5-week repeat cycle — meaning that the cable network goes through all of the episodes in 5 weeks after which it starts again from the pilot — it will be months and months before The Simpsons will have to repeat an episode on FXX, giving it a feel of an original run. Saftler expects The Simpsons to expand FXX’s “reach and frequency,” broadening its audience to include everyone from today’s teenagers who watch the show on Fox, to their parents who were teenagers when the show first premiered. Because of the virtual lack of repeats, he expects fans to check back often. 
 
 It took two decades, but The Simpsons producer 20th Century Fox TV had pretty good timing when it finally took The Simpsons to the cable marketplace. Several years ago, 21st Century Fox COO Chase Carey suggested that the company could launch a Simpsons cable channel (the volume of the Simpsons library could sustain that). Instead, the longest-running scripted series will serve as a backbone of another upstart Fox cable network, FXX. Given the benefits an asset like The Simpsons provides, FXX went very aggressively after the property in an already competitive marketplace. The network had been considered the frontrunner from the get-go with its vast shelf space that can easily accommodate a 600-episode off-network series and properly run and amortize it, something established cable networks with a full dance card of syndicated fare would find harder to do. That, combined with the financial windfall for 20th TV is making observers call the deal a “win-win” for both sides, and the ideal scenario parent 21 Century Fox had been hoping for. “The Simpsons long ago crossed over from ‘brilliant award-winning comedy series’ to ‘full-fledged cultural phenomenon,’ and this landmark deal is a testament to its enduring power and relevance,” said 20th TV chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden. 
 
 The Simpsons had been kept away from cable for so long because of its unparalleled longevity. When it was sold in broadcast syndication in 1993, it was a rare broadcast animated series, a genre stations were not very fond of, and cable TV was in its infancy. The Fox stations had leverage to secure exclusivity for as long as the show was still airing on Fox. No one at the time could imagine that would be 26 years and counting, creating a conundrum for 20th TV over growing lost revenues from a potential cable sale that were to kick in only if the show is cancelled. The studio started working on another plan, and I hear distributor Twentieth TV’s pacts with broadcast stations have been quietly tweaked over the past two years to allow the carving out of a cable window that will not impact the broadcast syndie run. The Simpsons‘ only presence on cable until now had been via The Simpsons movie, which FX had the rights to and has now extended to continue to air the movie alongside the show. 
 
 The Simpsons deal has an extra sentimental meaning for Saftler. He was one of the first FX employees, joining the network seven months before its launch as director of scheduling. When he drew his first schedule for the network with the programs he was hoping to have on it, The Simpsons was one of them. “To see that planning fulfilled 20 years later is mind-blowing, it is a wonderful fulfillment of a wonderful wish I had for the FX network.” In addition to Saftler, the deal was negotiated by FX Networks’ Chris Antola, and Twentieth TV’s Greg Meidel, Steve MacDonald and Lori Bernstein. 
 
 TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here. ||||| In one of television’s biggest syndication deals, “The Simpsons,” the longest-running scripted show in TV history, will finally be moving to cable television — and, not too surprisingly, it is staying in the family. 
 
 That’s the 21st Century Fox family, which owns the studio that created “The Simpsons,” (20th Century Fox Television), the network that broadcasts it (Fox), and now the cable network (FXX) that has acquired both cable and streaming rights to the more than 550 episodes. 
 
 Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but a representative of one of the other companies that pursued the package said that the bidding was highly competitive and estimated that the per-episode figure reached $1.5 million to $1.6 million. That would put the value of the deal at close to $900 million. 
 
 The 24 seasons of shows that have been completed will begin airing in August 2014. The 25th season, currently in production, will be available the month after. 
 
 The rights include not only the exclusive exposure on FXX, which is the new comedy offshoot of the FX Network, but also video-on-demand and streaming rights. By locking up these platforms, FXX can control the way it uses them, while keeping the shows away from competitors. That means, for the foreseeable future, the episodes are likely to contain some form of advertising, and not find their way onto increasingly popular ad-free subscription services like Netflix or Amazon. 
 
 Photo 
 
 The shows will be streamed online by FXNOW, a mobile viewing app that FX Networks plans to introduce soon. 
 
 Other companies that most likely would have been interested in the Simpsons package include Turner Broadcasting, on behalf of two of its cable networks: TBS, which mainly offers repeats of hit network comedies, and Adult Swim, which has carved out an identity substantially on reruns of other Fox animated comedies like “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” Both Viacom and NBC Universal were also widely mentioned as potential bidders. 
 
 When Gary Newman, the chief executive of 20th Century Fox Television, announced the prospective cable sale in September, he called the show “the greatest television asset of all time,” emphasizing that with 530 episodes completed (and at least one more season of 24 original shows already scheduled) “The Simpsons” could run as a nightly entry on a cable network for more than a year and never have to repeat an episode. 
 
 Of course, “Simpsons” episodes have not been locked away in a closet, like prized baseball cards. For two decades, repeats of “The Simpsons” have been widely seen on local broadcast television stations. Every other sitcom hit of recent vintage, from “Seinfeld” to “The Big Bang Theory,” has been made available in multiple sales to broadcasters and cable networks alike. Studios rarely leave such opportunities on the table. 
 
 But “The Simpsons” was locked into an unusual — and now vintage — deal. The show was first sold into syndication in 1993. While an enormous hit for Fox, “The Simpsons” always stood out because it was animated. When Fox tried to place live-action comedies adjacent to it, they never really worked. 
 
 Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 So the stations paying hefty rights fees insisted on maintaining exclusivity — meaning no sale to a cable network for as long as they were buying new seasons of reruns. “The Simpsons” — with a cast that never visibly aged — kept making new episodes on Fox, and the syndication contracts kept going. 
 
 Until now. The studio has finally worked a way to open the cable window, one that has long been estimated to be worth a fortune to a show that already is one of the greatest moneymakers in entertainment history, considering the value that has been reaped from merchandising, a theme park attraction and a theatrical movie. 
 
 For the fledgling FXX network, the deal is clearly intended to be a foundation stone. FX, known mainly for well-regarded dramas like “The Shield,” “Nip/Tuck,” “Justified” and “Sons of Anarchy,” spun off its comedy lineup (“Louie,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) in the all-comedy network starting last September. 
 
 The results so far have been lackluster. Ratings for shows that have moved from FX to FXX have been nothing close to what they were in the past. In the most prominent example, the late-night talk show, “Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell,” had more than 300,000 viewers on FX but fell to fewer than 50,000 on FXX and was canceled this week. 
 
 Now FX will have a core of comedy programming with the longest track record in television history. 
 
 Paying the hefty price has less sting because the money essentially moves from one corporate pocket to another — minus the many millions that will be paid to the profit participants in the show, which include, among many others, Matt Groening, who created the original comic characters, and James Brooks, the famed television and movie creator, who brought the show to Fox 25 years ago. ||||| The creative team behind The Simpsons have not been shy about blasting corporate cousin Fox News over the years, and the silver anniversary of the Fox Television Network is no exception. Following a re-broadcast of the series’ first episode, “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire,” the show’s creative team appended a title card to the credits, which read “Congratulations FOX on 25 years…We still love you*.” 
 
 That asterisk was followed by the disclaimer “*This doesn’t include Fox News.” 
 
 For almost all of the Fox Network’s 25 year history, The Simpsons has been a pillar of their success, but the show’s creators have made no bones about their distaste for Fox News, with whom they share a corporate parent. Now in it’s 23rd season, The Simpsons began running a series of Fox News helicopter gags in their opening credits last season that included fictional slogans like “Fox News: Not Racist, But #1 With Racists” and “Fox News: Unsuitable For Viewers Under 75.” 
 
 Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly bit back at the cartoon series at the time, characterizing his cable news employers as “the hand that feeds them,” which, given The Simpsons‘ longevity and importance to Fox, seems like an inversion of the relationship. 
 
 Still, an anniversary like this is supposed to be a happy occasion, not a chance to take cheap shots, even at people you think deserve them. If conservatives ever create a funny show, here’s hoping they show more restraint. 
 
 Here’s the clip, from Fox: 
 
 Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com ||||| Two-time Emmy winner Alf Clausen has been fired from “The Simpsons” after 27 years of providing music for Bart, Lisa, and company. 
 
 Clausen told Variety that he received a call from “Simpsons” producer Richard Sakai that the company was seeking “a different kind of music” and that he would no longer be scoring the longtime Fox hit. 
 
 A Fox spokeswoman declined to comment. 
 
 Clausen, whose Emmy record includes two wins (1997 and ’98) and another 21 nominations for “The Simpsons” dating back to 1992, has scored more than 560 episodes of the series, starting early in the 1990-91 season. He is believed to be the most-nominated composer in Emmy history, with a total of 30 nominations overall. 
 
 He has also won five Annie Awards, all for his “Simpsons” music. His long tenure with the series has made him one of the most respected creators of animation music in TV history. 
 
 Clausen’s last complete score for the series was for the season finale of Season 28, which aired in May. The season premiere is slated for Oct. 1, but it is not yet clear who will be scoring that episode. 
 
 Speculation about Clausen’s dismissal involves cost-cutting measures, which have been ongoing at “The Simpsons” in recent years, despite its massive profits for Fox and executive producer James L. Brooks’ Gracie Films. 
 
 Clausen uses a 35-piece orchestra every week — something that “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening insisted upon from the start of the show. Including costs of musicians, recording studios, and orchestration, expenses routinely run into the millions of dollars per year. Danny Elfman’s “Simpsons” theme is expected to be retained.
– I'm seeing double here, four more seasons of The Simpsons! USA Today reports Fox just renewed Homer Simpson (the greatest guy in history) and his family for two more seasons—the show's 29th and 30th. That will bring The Simpsons' episode count to 669—more than enough to break Gunsmoke's record-holding 635, according to CNN.The lesson for the old CBS western is never try. The Simpsons, which has won 32 Emmy's since 1989, still brings in pretty good ratings, proving Fox executives were S-M-R-T to renew it (even if they do work for a billionaire tyrant). "I think our new motto is 'on to sixty,'" executive producer Al Jean says. Have no fears, they've got stories for years. So let's all go out for some frosty chocolate milkshakes.