THE SIMPSONS: The Panel of Five Celebrate 35 Years on Television and Their First Time at New York Comic Con [Fox, NYCC 2024]

The Simpsons Panel NYCC 2024

New York Comic Con, The Simpsons Panel Write Up featuring Series Creator Matt Groening, Showrunner Matt Selman, Actor Hank Azaria, Co-executive Producer Carolyn Omine, and Co-Executive Producer Tim Long.

It was a mild autumn afternoon when The Simpsons made their New York Comic Con debut. Staples in the San Diego scene, the panel of five guests received a warm welcome from the anxious Manhattan crowd Saturday afternoon. Among the five guests were series creator Matt Groening; showrunner Matt Selman; actor Hank Azaria; and co-executive producers Carolyn Omine and Tim Long.

As they settled into their seats on stage, actor Hank Azaria revealed that it was his first ever comic convention, period. It was all the more special that Azaria began the panel by reading a pre-written speech about New York Comic Con in the voice of show favorite “Comic Book Guy.” It was like we had our very own Simpons live read, with all the barbs and jabs you’d expect from the brilliant writers who help sculpt the show.

It’s impossible not to marvel at their achievements in the industry. The Simpsons will be celebrating 35 years running on December 17, 2024. While I could in no way describe myself as a Simpsons expert, or fan even, there is obviously something special about the show, and you could feel it in the air in that dark auditorium in the belly of the Javits Center.

The panel was moderated by Jesse David Fox from Vulture and focused on where the series started and where we are today. Series Creator Matt Groening discussed the first time they received the animation back for their very first episode. It was so horrendously bad that he had to lie to Fox studios and say they never received the work. Luckily, they were able to bury that first episode until they nailed the animation and everything else.

Azaria is magnetic on a stage. His ability to switch between voices and characters is nothing short of brilliant. He discussed his early days on the show and where he comes up with the voices for all his characters. Azaria described himself and other voice actors as “human AI” because they record everything and spit it back out. We were even treated with a “Let’s go Mets!” from Brockmire himself during the audience Q&A.

It was a funny moment when Groening described the first time he knew the show would be big, the summer after it premiered, and he saw bootleg Bart Simpson T-shirts while walking the streets of New York. How’s that old saying go? If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere?

Audience members were graced with five different clips from the upcoming season (which I won’t spoil!) Let’s just say I wouldn’t worry about the Simpsons going anywhere.

Leave your thoughts on this The Simpsons write up and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons.

Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page.

Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, and Threads.