The Simpsons Cast And Writers Used To Track Fan Criticism — Here’s Why They Stopped

Despite helping create one of the greatest animated shows of all time, the early writers on “The Simpsons” found themselves struggling to ignore some of their more dedicated and persistent detractors. 

In a 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, former staff writer and showrunner Bill Oakley revealed that the show’s writers once created an Unix account and a modem installed (remember, this was the 1990s) to keep track of a certain online newsgroup that never let up with the negative feedback. However, it ended up being more of a distraction than a source of constructive feedback.

“What we gradually learned is that even the most beloved, classic episodes, maybe, if you were lucky, 60% of the people would like them. And everyone else would literally be saying, ‘worst episode ever.’ We became so frustrated with them hating everything, we deleted the account and told Fox to take the modem out. And that was the end of it.”

Of course, it’s impossible to drown out all of the criticism. While some folks might argue that “The Simpsons” is one of the best and most rewatchable shows out there, others believe it’s long past its best years. The latter camp bothers some of the folks involved with the series.

“The Simpsons” reached its 800th episode in 2026, recreating the show’s classic animation style to celebrate the milestone. Be that as it may, there are viewers out there who believe the show should probably have ended years ago — a sentiment with which Yeardley Smith, who voices Lisa Simpson, takes issue.

“My feeling today is most people say, ‘The show hasn’t been good since Season 10.’ And it’s like, f**k you,” Smith told THR. “The piece that goes along with a comment like that is, ‘I can’t believe they don’t try anymore.’ That is so offensive to me. You’ll never meet more hardworking writers, animators and actors than at ‘The Simpsons.'”

Overall, it seems that “The Simpsons” has always had its detractors, but the show’s success speaks for itself. There are clearly more supporters than naysayers out there, as the animated sitcom has been on the air for almost 40 years. Come on, how many other shows have publications ranking their couch gag intros?