Back on June 18, 1961, when Gunsmoke aired their final episode, no one ever thought that any other show would break their record. Now almost 57 years, The Simpsons tells them to eat their shorts.
That is because tonight at 8p on Fox, the animated sitcom will air its 636th episode. Which is one more episode than all of the Western’s, making The Simpsons the longest-running scripted U.S. primetime television series.
While it only took Gunsmoke 20 years to reach that number, The Simpsons had to wait until their 29th season to get to that milestone. A milestone they will surpass with each episode moving forward.
Congrats!
So what happens tonight? Homer sells his car to a derby and takes the family to see it get it destroyed. While they are there, Grandpa has a heart attack and it looks like he is going to die. Since he is on his deathbed, he makes a confession to his son. One that if he lives will tear their family apart. What could it be? You don’t want to miss the 636th episode of this series to find out what this devastating secret is.