House sparrow

The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of 16 cm (6.3 in) and a mass of 24–39.5 g (0.85–1.39 oz). Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the house sparrow is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and a large part of Asia. Its intentional or accidental introductions to many regions, including parts of Australasia, Africa, and the Americas, make it the most widely distributed wild bird.

The house sparrow is strongly associated with human habitation, and can live in urban or rural settings. Though found in widely varied habitats and climates, it typically avoids extensive woodlands, grasslands, polar regions, and hot, dry deserts far away from human development. For sustenance, the house sparrow routinely feeds at home and public bird feeding stations, but naturally feeds on the seeds of grains, flowering plants and weeds. However, it is an opportunistic, omnivorous eater, and commonly catches insects, their larvae, caterpillars, invertebrates and many other natural foods.

Because of its numbers, ubiquity, and association with human settlements, the house sparrow is culturally prominent. It is extensively, and usually unsuccessfully, persecuted as an agricultural pest. It has also often been kept as a pet, as well as being a food item and a symbol of lust, sexual potency, commonness, and vulgarity. Though it is widespread and abundant, its numbers have declined in some areas. The animal's conservation status is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.

## Description

### Measurements and shape

The house sparrow is typically about 16 cm (6.3 in) long, ranging from 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in). The house sparrow is a compact bird with a full chest and a large, rounded head. Its bill is stout and conical with a culmen length of 1.1–1.5 cm (0.43–0.59 in), strongly built as an adaptation for eating seeds. Its tail is short, at 5.2–6.5 cm (2.0–2.6 in) long. The wing chord is 6.7–8.9 cm (2.6–3.5 in), and the tarsus is 1.6–2.5 cm (0.63–0.98 in). Wingspan ranges from 19–25 centimetres (7.5–9.8 in).

In mass, the house sparrow ranges from 24 to 39.5 g (0.85 to 1.39 oz). Females usually are slightly smaller than males. The median mass on the European continent for both sexes is about 30 g (1.1 oz), and in more southerly subspecies is around 26 g (0.92 oz). Younger birds are smaller, males are larger during the winter, and females are larger during the breeding season. Birds at higher latitudes, colder climates, and sometimes higher altitudes are larger (under Bergmann's rule), both between and within subspecies.

### Plumage

The plumage of the house sparrow is mostly different shades of grey and brown. The sexes exhibit strong dimorphism: the female is mostly buffish above and below, while the male has boldly coloured head markings, a reddish back, and grey underparts. The male has a dark grey crown from the top of its bill to its back, and chestnut brown flanking its crown on the sides of its head. It has black around its bill, on its throat, and on the spaces between its bill and eyes (lores). It has a small white stripe between the lores and crown and small white spots immediately behind the eyes (postoculars), with black patches below and above them. The underparts are pale grey or white, as are the cheeks, ear coverts, and stripes at the base of the head. The upper back and mantle are a warm brown, with broad black streaks, while the lower back, rump and upper tail coverts are greyish brown.

The male is duller in fresh nonbreeding plumage, with whitish tips on many feathers. Wear and preening expose many of the bright brown and black markings, including most of the black throat and chest patch, called the "bib" or "badge". The badge is variable in width and general size, and may signal social status or fitness. This hypothesis has led to a "veritable 'cottage industry'" of studies, which have only conclusively shown that patches increase in size with age. The male's bill is dark grey, but black in the breeding season.

The female has no black markings or grey crown. Its upperparts and head are brown with darker streaks around the mantle and a distinct pale supercilium. Its underparts are pale grey-brown. The female's bill is brownish-grey and becomes darker in breeding plumage approaching the black of the male's bill.

Juveniles are similar to the adult female, but deeper brown below and paler above, with paler and less defined supercilia. Juveniles have broader buff feather edges, and tend to have looser, scruffier plumage, like moulting adults. Juvenile males tend to have darker throats and white postoculars like adult males, while juvenile females tend to have white throats. However, juveniles cannot be reliably sexed by plumage: some juvenile males lack any markings of the adult male, and some juvenile females have male features. The bills of young birds are light yellow to straw, paler than the female's bill. Immature males have paler versions of the adult male's markings, which can be very indistinct in fresh plumage. By their first breeding season, young birds generally are indistinguishable from other adults, though they may still be paler during their first year.

### Voice

Most house sparrow vocalisations are variations on its short and frequent chirping call. Transcribed as chirrup, tschilp, or philip, this note is made as a contact call by flocking or resting birds; or by males to proclaim nest ownership and invite pairing. In the breeding season, the male gives this call repetitively, with emphasis and speed, but not much rhythm, forming what is described either as a song or an "ecstatic call" similar to a song. Young birds also give a true song, especially in captivity, a warbling similar to that of the European greenfinch.

Aggressive males give a trilled version of their call, transcribed as "chur-chur-r-r-it-it-it-it". This call is also used by females in the breeding season, to establish dominance over males while displacing them to feed young or incubate eggs. House sparrows give a nasal alarm call, the basic sound of which is transcribed as quer, and a shrill chree call in great distress. Another vocalisation is the "appeasement call", a soft quee given to inhibit aggression, usually given between birds of a mated pair. These vocalisations are not unique to the house sparrow, but are shared, with small variations, by all sparrows.

### Variation

Some variation is seen in the 12 subspecies of house sparrows, which are divided into two groups, the Oriental P. d. indicus group, and the Palaearctic P. d. domesticus group. Birds of the P. d. domesticus group have grey cheeks, while P. d. indicus group birds have white cheeks, as well as bright colouration on the crown, a smaller bill, and a longer black bib. The subspecies P. d. tingitanus differs little from the nominate subspecies, except in the worn breeding plumage of the male, in which the head is speckled with black and underparts are paler. P. d. balearoibericus is slightly paler than the nominate, but darker than P. d. bibilicus. P. d. bibilicus is paler than most subspecies, but has the grey cheeks of P. d. domesticus group birds. The similar P. d. persicus is paler and smaller, and P. d. niloticus is nearly identical but smaller. Of the less widespread P. d. indicus group subspecies, P. d. hyrcanus is larger than P. d. indicus, P. d. hufufae is paler, P. d. bactrianus is larger and paler, and P. d. parkini is larger and darker with more black on the breast than any other subspecies.

### Identification

The house sparrow can be confused with a number of other seed-eating birds, especially its relatives in the genus Passer. Many of these relatives are smaller, with an appearance that is neater or "cuter", as with the Dead Sea sparrow. The dull-coloured female can often not be distinguished from other females, and is nearly identical to those of the Spanish and Italian sparrows. The Eurasian tree sparrow is smaller and slenderer with a chestnut crown and a black patch on each cheek. The male Spanish sparrow and Italian sparrow are distinguished by their chestnut crowns. The Sind sparrow is very similar but smaller, with less black on the male's throat and a distinct pale supercilium on the female.

## Taxonomy and systematics

### Names

The house sparrow was among the first animals to be given a scientific name in the modern system of biological classification, since it was described by Carl Linnaeus, in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It was described from a type specimen collected in Sweden, with the name Fringilla domestica. Later, the genus name Fringilla came to be used only for the common chaffinch and its relatives, and the house sparrow has usually been placed in the genus Passer created by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.

The bird's scientific name and its usual English name have the same meaning. The Latin word passer, like the English word "sparrow", is a term for small active birds, coming from a root word referring to speed. The Latin word domesticus means "belonging to the house", like the common name a reference to its association with humans. The house sparrow is also called by a number of alternative English names, including English sparrow, chiefly in North America; and Indian sparrow or Indian house sparrow, for the birds of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Dialectal names include sparr, sparrer, spadger, spadgick, and philip, mainly in southern England; spug and spuggy, mainly in northern England; spur and sprig, mainly in Scotland; and spatzie or spotsie, from the German Spatz, in North America.

### Taxonomy

The genus Passer contains about 25 species, depending on the authority, 26 according to the Handbook of the Birds of the World. Most Passer species are dull-coloured birds with short, square tails and stubby, conical beaks, between 11 and 18 cm (4.3 and 7.1 in) long. Mitochondrial DNA studies suggest that speciation in the genus occurred during the Pleistocene and earlier, while other evidence suggests speciation occurred 25,000 to 15,000 years ago. Within Passer, the house sparrow is part of the "Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows" group and a close relative of the Mediterranean "willow sparrows".

The taxonomy of the house sparrow and its Mediterranean relatives is complicated. The common type of "willow sparrow" is the Spanish sparrow, which resembles the house sparrow in many respects. It frequently prefers wetter habitats than the house sparrow, and it is often colonial and nomadic. In most of the Mediterranean, one or both species occur, with some degree of hybridisation. In North Africa, the two species hybridise extensively, forming highly variable mixed populations with a full range of characters from pure house sparrows to pure Spanish sparrows.

In most of Italy, the breeding species is the Italian sparrow, which has an appearance intermediate between those of the house and Spanish sparrows. Its specific status and origin are the subject of much debate, but it may be a case of long-ago hybrid speciation. In the Alps, the Italian sparrow intergrades over a narrow roughly 20 km (12 mi) strip with the house sparrow, and some house sparrows migrate into the Italian sparrow's range in winter. On the Mediterranean islands of Malta, Gozo, Crete, Rhodes, and Karpathos, other apparently intermediate birds are of unknown status.

### Subspecies

A large number of subspecies have been named, of which 12 were recognised in the Handbook of the Birds of the World. These subspecies are divided into two groups, the Palaearctic P. d. domesticus group, and the Oriental P. d. indicus group. Several Middle Eastern subspecies, including P. d. biblicus, are sometimes considered a third, intermediate group. The subspecies P. d. indicus was described as a species, and was considered to be distinct by many ornithologists during the 19th century.

Migratory birds of the subspecies P. d. bactrianus in the P. d. indicus group were recorded overlapping with P. d. domesticus birds without hybridising in the 1970s, so the Soviet scientists Edward I. Gavrilov and M. N. Korelov proposed the separation of the P. d. indicus group as a separate species. However, P. d. indicus group and P. d. domesticus group birds intergrade in a large part of Iran, so this split is rarely recognised.

In North America, house sparrow populations are more differentiated than those in Europe. This variation follows predictable patterns, with birds at higher latitudes being larger and darker and those in arid areas being smaller and paler. However, how much this is caused by evolution or by environment is not clear. Similar observations have been made in New Zealand and in South Africa. The introduced house sparrow populations may be distinct enough to merit subspecies status, especially in North America and southern Africa, and American ornithologist Harry Church Oberholser even gave the subspecies name P. d. plecticus to the paler birds of western North America.

P. d. domesticus group

- P. d. domesticus Linnaeus, 1758, the nominate subspecies, is found in most of Europe, across northern Asia to Sakhalin and Kamchatka. It is the most widely introduced subspecies.
- P. d. balearoibericus von Jordans, 1923, described from Majorca, is found in the Balearic Islands, southern France, the Balkans, and Anatolia.
- P. d. tingitanus (Loche, 1867), described from Algeria, is found in the Maghreb from Ajdabiya in Libya to Béni Abbès in Algeria, and to Morocco's Atlantic coast. It hybridises extensively with the Spanish sparrow, especially in the eastern part of its range.
- P. d. niloticus Nicoll and Bonhote, 1909, described from Faiyum, Egypt, is found along the Nile north of Wadi Halfa, Sudan. It intergrades with bibilicus in the Sinai, and with rufidorsalis in a narrow zone around Wadi Halfa. It has been recorded in Somaliland.
- P. d. persicus Zarudny and Kudashev, 1916, described from the Karun River in Khuzestan, Iran, is found in the western and central Iran south of the Alborz mountains, intergrading with indicus in eastern Iran, and Afghanistan.
- P. d. biblicus Hartert, 1910, described from Palestine, is found in the Middle East from Cyprus and southeastern Turkey to the Sinai in the west and from Azerbaijan to Kuwait in the east.

P. d. indicus group

- P. d. hyrcanus Zarudny and Kudashev, 1916, described from Gorgan, Iran, is found along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea from Gorgan to southeastern Azerbaijan. It intergrades with P. d. persicus in the Alborz mountains, and with P. d. bibilicus to the west. It is the subspecies with the smallest range.
- P. d. bactrianus Zarudny and Kudashev, 1916, described from Tashkent, is found in southern Kazakhstan to the Tian Shan and northern Iran and Afghanistan. It intergrades with persicus in Baluchistan and with indicus across central Afghanistan. Unlike most other house sparrow subspecies, it is almost entirely migratory, wintering in the plains of the northern Indian subcontinent. It is found in open country rather than in settlements, which are occupied by the Eurasian tree sparrow in its range. There is an exceptional record from Sudan.
- P. d. parkini Whistler, 1920, described from Srinagar, Kashmir, is found in the western Himalayas from the Pamir Mountains to southeastern Nepal. It is migratory, like P. d. bactrianus.
- P. d. indicus Jardine and Selby, 1831, described from Bangalore, is found in the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas, in Sri Lanka, western Southeast Asia, eastern Iran, southwestern Arabia and southern Israel.
- P. d. hufufae Ticehurst and Cheeseman, 1924, described from Hofuf in Saudi Arabia, is found in northeastern Arabia.
- P. d. rufidorsalis C. L. Brehm, 1855, described from Khartoum, Sudan, is found in the Nile valley from Wadi Halfa south to Renk in northern South Sudan, and in eastern Sudan, northern Ethiopia to the Red Sea coast in Eritrea. It has also been introduced to Mohéli in the Comoros.

## Distribution and habitat

The house sparrow originated in the Middle East and spread, along with agriculture, to most of Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Since the mid-19th century, it has reached most of the world, chiefly due to deliberate introductions, but also through natural and shipborne dispersal. Its introduced range encompasses most of North America (including Bermuda), Central America, southern South America, southern Africa, part of West Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and islands throughout the world. It has greatly extended its range in northern Eurasia since the 1850s, and continues to do so, as was shown by its colonisation around 1990 of Iceland and Rishiri Island, Japan. The extent of its range makes it the most widely distributed wild bird on the planet.

### Introduction

The house sparrow has become highly successful in most parts of the world where it has been introduced. This is mostly due to its early adaptation to living with humans, and its adaptability to a wide range of conditions. Other factors may include its robust immune response, compared to the Eurasian tree sparrow. Where introduced, it can extend its range quickly, sometimes at a rate over 230 km (140 mi) per year. In many parts of the world, it has been characterised as a pest, and poses a threat to native birds. A few introductions have died out or been of limited success, such as those to Greenland and Cape Verde.

The first of many successful introductions to North America occurred when birds from England were released in New York City, in 1852, intended to control the ravages of the linden moth. In North America, the house sparrow now occurs from the Northwest Territories of Canada to southern Panama, and it is one of the most abundant birds of the continent. The house sparrow was first introduced to Australia in 1863 at Melbourne and is common throughout the eastern part of the continent as far north as Cape York, but has been prevented from establishing itself in Western Australia, where every house sparrow found in the state is killed. House sparrows were introduced in New Zealand in 1859, and from there reached many of the Pacific islands, including Hawaii.

In southern Africa, birds of both the European subspecies (P. d. domesticus) and the Indian subspecies (P. d. indicus) were introduced around 1900. Birds of P. d. domesticus ancestry are confined to a few towns, while P. d. indicus birds have spread rapidly, reaching Tanzania in the 1980s. Despite this rapid spread, native relatives such as the Cape sparrow also occur and thrive in urban habitats. In South America, it was first introduced near Buenos Aires around 1870, and quickly became common in most of the southern part of the continent. It now occurs almost continuously from Tierra del Fuego to the fringes of the Amazon basin, with isolated populations as far north as coastal Venezuela.

### Habitat

The house sparrow is closely associated with human habitation and cultivation. It is not an obligate commensal of humans as some have suggested: birds of the migratory Central Asian subspecies usually breed away from humans in open country, and birds elsewhere are occasionally found away from humans. The only terrestrial habitats that the house sparrow does not inhabit are dense forest and tundra. Well adapted to living around humans, it frequently lives and even breeds indoors, especially in factories, warehouses, and zoos. It has been recorded breeding in an English coal mine 640 m (2,100 ft) below ground, and feeding on the Empire State Building's observation deck at night. It reaches its greatest densities in urban centres, but its reproductive success is greater in suburbs, where insects are more abundant. On a larger scale, it is most abundant in wheat-growing areas such as the Midwestern United States.

It tolerates a variety of climates, but prefers drier conditions, especially in moist tropical climates. It has several adaptations to dry areas, including a high salt tolerance and an ability to survive without water by ingesting berries. In most of eastern Asia, the house sparrow is entirely absent, replaced by the Eurasian tree sparrow. Where these two species overlap, the house sparrow is usually more common than the Eurasian tree sparrow, but one species may replace the other in a manner that ornithologist Maud Doria Haviland described as "random, or even capricious". In most of its range, the house sparrow is extremely common, despite some declines, but in marginal habitats such as rainforest or mountain ranges, its distribution can be spotty.

## Behaviour

### Social behaviour

The house sparrow is a very social bird. It is gregarious during all seasons when feeding, often forming flocks with other species of birds. It roosts communally while breeding nests are usually grouped together in clumps. House sparrows also engage in social activities such as dust or water bathing and "social singing", in which birds call together in bushes. The house sparrow feeds mostly on the ground, but it flocks in trees and bushes. At feeding stations and nests, female house sparrows are dominant despite their smaller size, and they can fight over males in the breeding season.

### Sleep and roosting

House sparrows sleep with the bill tucked underneath the scapular feathers. Outside of the reproductive season, they often roost communally in trees or shrubs. Much communal chirping occurs before and after the birds settle in the roost in the evening, as well as before the birds leave the roost in the morning. Some congregating sites separate from the roost may be visited by the birds prior to settling in for the night.

### Body maintenance

Dust or water bathing is common and often occurs in groups. Anting is rare. Head scratching is done with the leg over the drooped wing.

### Feeding

As an adult, the house sparrow mostly feeds on the seeds of grains and weeds, but it is opportunistic and adaptable, and eats whatever foods are available. In towns and cities, it often scavenges for food in garbage containers and congregates in the outdoors of restaurants and other eating establishments to feed on leftover food and crumbs. It can perform complex tasks to obtain food, such as opening automatic doors to enter supermarkets, clinging to hotel walls to watch vacationers on their balconies, and nectar robbing kowhai flowers. In common with many other birds, the house sparrow requires grit to digest the harder items in its diet. Grit can be either stone, often grains of masonry, or the shells of eggs or snails; oblong and rough grains are preferred.

Several studies of the house sparrow in temperate agricultural areas have found the proportion of seeds in its diet to be about 90%. It will eat almost any seeds, but where it has a choice, it prefers corn: oats, wheat or maize. Rural birds tend to eat more waste seed from animal dung and seed from fields while urban birds tend to eat more commercial bird seed and weed seed. In urban areas, the house sparrow also feeds largely on food provided directly or indirectly by humans, such as bread, though it prefers raw seeds. The house sparrow also eats some plant matter besides seeds, including buds, berries, and fruits such as grapes and cherries. In temperate areas, the house sparrow has an unusual habit of tearing flowers, especially yellow ones, in the spring.

Animals form another important part of the house sparrow's diet, chiefly insects, of which beetles, caterpillars, dipteran flies, and aphids are especially important. Various noninsect arthropods are eaten, as are molluscs and crustaceans where available, earthworms, and even vertebrates such as lizards and frogs. Young house sparrows are fed mostly on insects until about 15 days after hatching. They are also given small quantities of seeds, spiders, and grit. In most places, grasshoppers and crickets are the most abundant foods of nestlings. True bugs, ants, sawflies, and beetles are also important, but house sparrows take advantage of whatever foods are abundant to feed their young. House sparrows have been observed stealing prey from other birds, including American robins.

The gut microbiota of house sparrows differs between chicks and adults, with Pseudomonadota (formerly Proteobacteria) decreasing in chicks when they get to around 9 days old, whilst the relative abundance of Bacillota increase.

### Locomotion

The house sparrow's flight is direct (not undulating) and flapping, averaging 45.5 km/h (28.3 mph) and about 15 wingbeats per second. On the ground, the house sparrow typically hops rather than walks. It can swim when pressed to do so by pursuit from predators. Captive birds have been recorded diving and swimming short distances under water.

### Dispersal and migration

Most house sparrows do not move more than a few kilometres during their lifetimes. However, limited migration occurs in all regions. Some young birds disperse long distances, especially on coasts, and mountain birds move to lower elevations in winter. Two subspecies, P. d. bactrianus and P. d. parkini, are predominantly migratory. Unlike the birds in sedentary populations that migrate, birds of migratory subspecies prepare for migration by putting on weight.

### Breeding

House sparrows can breed in the breeding season immediately following their hatching, and sometimes attempt to do so. Some birds breeding for the first time in tropical areas are only a few months old and still have juvenile plumage. Birds breeding for the first time are rarely successful in raising young, and reproductive success increases with age, as older birds breed earlier in the breeding season, and fledge more young. As the breeding season approaches, hormone releases trigger enormous increases in the size of the sexual organs and changes in day length lead males to start calling by nesting sites. The timing of mating and egg-laying varies geographically, and between specific locations and years because a sufficient supply of insects is needed for egg formation and feeding nestlings.

Males take up nesting sites before the breeding season, by frequently calling beside them. Unmated males start nest construction and call particularly frequently to attract females. When a female approaches a male during this period, the male displays by moving up and down while drooping and shivering his wings, pushing up his head, raising and spreading his tail, and showing his bib. Males may try to mate with females while calling or displaying. In response, a female will adopt a threatening posture and attack a male before flying away, pursued by the male. The male displays in front of her, attracting other males, which also pursue and display to the female. This group display usually does not immediately result in copulations. Other males usually do not copulate with the female. Copulation is typically initiated by the female giving a soft dee-dee-dee call to the male. Birds of a pair copulate frequently until the female is laying eggs, and the male mounts the female repeatedly each time a pair mates.

The house sparrow is monogamous, and typically mates for life, but birds from pairs often engage in extra-pair copulations, so about 15% of house sparrow fledglings are unrelated to their mother's mate. Males guard their mates carefully to avoid being cuckolded, and most extra-pair copulation occurs away from nest sites. Males may sometimes have multiple mates, and bigamy is mostly limited by aggression between females. Many birds do not find a nest and a mate, and instead may serve as helpers around the nest for mated pairs, a role which increases the chances of being chosen to replace a lost mate. Lost mates of both sexes can be replaced quickly during the breeding season. The formation of a pair and the bond between the two birds is tied to the holding of a nest site, though paired house sparrows can recognise each other away from the nest.

#### Nesting

Nest sites are varied, though cavities are preferred. Nests are most frequently built in the eaves and other crevices of houses. Holes in cliffs and banks, and tree hollows, are also used. A sparrow sometimes excavates its own nests in sandy banks or rotten branches, but more frequently uses the nests of other birds such as those of swallows in banks and cliffs, and old tree cavity nests. It usually uses deserted nests, though sometimes it usurps active ones by driving away or killing the occupants. Tree hollows are more commonly used in North America than in Europe, putting the sparrows in competition with bluebirds and other North American cavity nesters, and thereby contributing to their population declines.

Especially in warmer areas, the house sparrow may build its nests in the open, on the branches of trees, especially evergreens and hawthorns, or in the nests of large birds such as storks or magpies. In open nesting sites, breeding success tends to be lower, since breeding begins late and the nest can easily be destroyed or damaged by storms. Less common nesting sites include street lights and neon signs, favoured for their warmth; and the old open-topped nests of other songbirds, which are then domed over. Usually the couples repeat copulation many times. Every copulation is followed by some break of 3 to 4 seconds, and in that time both pair change their position by some distance. The nest is usually domed, though it may lack a roof in enclosed sites. It has an outer layer of stems and roots, a middle layer of dead grass and leaves, and a lining of feathers, as well as of paper and other soft materials. Nests typically have external dimensions of 20 × 30 cm (8 × 12 in), but their size varies greatly. The building of the nest is initiated by the unmated male while displaying to females. The female assists in building, but is less active than the male. Some nest building occurs throughout the year, especially after moult in autumn. In colder areas house sparrows build specially created roost nests, or roost in street lights, to avoid losing heat during the winter. House sparrows do not hold territories, but they defend their nests aggressively against intruders of the same sex.

House sparrows' nests support a wide range of scavenging insects, including nest flies such as Neottiophilum praestum, Protocalliphora blowflies, and over 1,400 species of beetle.

#### Eggs and young

Clutches usually comprise four or five eggs, though numbers from one to 10 have been recorded. At least two clutches are usually laid, and up to seven a year may be laid in the tropics or four a year in temperate latitudes. When fewer clutches are laid in a year, especially at higher latitudes, the number of eggs per clutch is greater. Central Asian house sparrows, which migrate and have only one clutch a year, average 6.5 eggs in a clutch. Clutch size is also affected by environmental and seasonal conditions, female age, and breeding density.

Some intraspecific brood parasitism occurs, and instances of unusually large numbers of eggs in a nest may be the result of females laying eggs in the nests of their neighbours. Such foreign eggs are sometimes recognised and ejected by females. The house sparrow is a victim of interspecific brood parasites, but only rarely, since it usually uses nests in holes too small for parasites to enter, and it feeds its young foods unsuitable for young parasites. In turn, the house sparrow has once been recorded as a brood parasite of the American cliff swallow.

The eggs are white, bluish white, or greenish white, spotted with brown or grey. Subelliptical in shape, they range from 20 to 22 mm (0.79 to 0.87 in) in length and 14 to 16 mm (0.55 to 0.63 in) in width, have an average mass of 2.9 g (0.10 oz), and an average surface area of 9.18 cm<sup>2</sup> (1.423 in<sup>2</sup>). Eggs from the tropical subspecies are distinctly smaller. Eggs begin to develop with the deposition of yolk in the ovary a few days before ovulation. In the day between ovulation and laying, egg white forms, followed by eggshell. Eggs laid later in a clutch are larger, as are those laid by larger females, and egg size is hereditary. Eggs decrease slightly in size from laying to hatching. The yolk comprises 25% of the egg, the egg white 68%, and the shell 7%. Eggs are watery, being 79% liquid, and otherwise mostly protein.

The female develops a brood patch of bare skin and plays the main part in incubating the eggs. The male helps, but can only cover the eggs rather than truly incubate them. The female spends the night incubating during this period, while the male roosts near the nest. Eggs hatch at the same time, after a short incubation period lasting 11–14 days, and exceptionally for as many as 17 or as few as 9. The length of the incubation period decreases as ambient temperature increases later in the breeding season.

Young house sparrows remain in the nest for 11 to 23 days, normally 14 to 16 days. During this time, they are fed by both parents. As newly hatched house sparrows do not have sufficient insulation, they are brooded for a few days, or longer in cold conditions. The parents swallow the droppings produced by the hatchlings during the first few days; later, the droppings are moved up to 20 m (66 ft) away from the nest.

The chicks' eyes open after about 4 days and, at an age of about 8 days, the young birds get their first down. If both parents perish, the ensuing intensive begging sounds of the young often attract replacement parents which feed them until they can sustain themselves. All the young in the nest leave it during the same period of a few hours. At this stage, they are normally able to fly. They start feeding themselves partly after 1 or 2 days, and sustain themselves completely after 7 to 10 days, 14 at the latest.

## Survival

In adult house sparrows, annual survival is 45–65%. After fledging and leaving the care of their parents, young sparrows have a high mortality rate, which lessens as they grow older and more experienced. Only about 20–25% of birds hatched survive to their first breeding season. The oldest known wild house sparrow lived for nearly two decades; it was found dead 19 years and 9 months after it was ringed in Denmark. The oldest recorded captive house sparrow lived for 23 years. The typical ratio of males to females in a population is uncertain due to problems in collecting data, but a very slight preponderance of males at all ages is usual.

### Predation

The house sparrow's main predators are cats and birds of prey, but many other animals prey on them, including corvids, squirrels, and even humans—the house sparrow has been consumed in the past by people in many parts of the world, and it still is in parts of the Mediterranean. Most species of birds of prey have been recorded preying on the house sparrow in places where records are extensive. Accipiters and the merlin in particular are major predators, though cats are likely to have a greater impact on house sparrow populations. The house sparrow is also a common victim of roadkill; on European roads, it is the bird most frequently found dead.

### Parasites and disease

The house sparrow is host to a huge number of parasites and diseases, and the effect of most is unknown. Ornithologist Ted R. Anderson listed thousands, noting that his list was incomplete. The commonly recorded bacterial pathogens of the house sparrow are often those common in humans, and include Salmonella and Escherichia coli. Salmonella is common in the house sparrow, and a comprehensive study of house sparrow disease found it in 13% of sparrows tested. Salmonella epidemics in the spring and winter can kill large numbers of sparrows. The house sparrow hosts avian pox and avian malaria, which it has spread to the native forest birds of Hawaii. Many of the diseases hosted by the house sparrow are also present in humans and domestic animals, for which the house sparrow acts as a reservoir host. Arboviruses such as the West Nile virus, which most commonly infect insects and mammals, survive winters in temperate areas by going dormant in birds such as the house sparrow. A few records indicate disease extirpating house sparrow populations, especially from Scottish islands, but this seems to be rare. House sparrows are also infected by haemosporidian parasites, but less so in urban than in rural areas Toxoplasma gondii has been detected in sparrows in northwestern China where they pose a risk due to their meat being consumed in the region.

The house sparrow is infested by a number of external parasites, which usually cause little harm to adult sparrows. In Europe, the most common mite found on sparrows is Proctophyllodes, the most common ticks are Argas reflexus and Ixodes arboricola, and the most common flea on the house sparrow is Ceratophyllus gallinae. Dermanyssus blood-feeding mites are also common ectoparasites of house sparrows, and these mites can enter human habitation and bite humans, causing a condition known as gamasoidosis. A number of chewing lice occupy different niches on the house sparrow's body. Menacanthus lice occur across the house sparrow's body, where they feed on blood and feathers, while Brueelia lice feed on feathers and Philopterus fringillae occurs on the head.

## Physiology

House sparrows express strong circadian rhythms of activity in the laboratory. They were among the first bird species to be seriously studied in terms of their circadian activity and photoperiodism, in part because of their availability and adaptability in captivity, but also because they can "find their way" and remain rhythmic in constant darkness. Such studies have found that the pineal gland is a central part of the house sparrow's circadian system: removal of the pineal eliminates the circadian rhythm of activity, and transplant of the pineal into another individual confers to this individual the rhythm phase of the donor bird. The suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus have also been shown to be an important component of the circadian system of house sparrows. The photoreceptors involved in the synchronisation of the circadian clock to the external light-dark cycle are located in the brain and can be stimulated by light reaching them directly though the skull, as revealed by experiments in which blind sparrows, which normally can still synchronise to the light-dark cycle, failed to do so once India ink was injected as a screen under the skin on top of their skulls.

Similarly, even when blind, house sparrows continue to be photoperiodic, i.e. show reproductive development when the days are long, but not when the days are short. This response is stronger when the feathers on top of the head are plucked, and is eliminated when India ink is injected under the skin at the top of the head, showing that the photoreceptors involved in the photoperiodic response to day length are located inside the brain.

House sparrows have also been used in studies of nonphotic entrainment (i.e. synchronisation to an external cycle other than light and dark): for example, in constant darkness, a situation in which the birds would normally reveal their endogenous, non-24-hour, "free-running" rhythms of activity, they instead show 24-hour periodicity if they are exposed to two hours of chirp playbacks every 24 hours, matching their daily activity onsets with the daily playback onsets. House sparrows in constant dim light can also be entrained to a daily cycle based on the presence of food. Finally, house sparrows in constant darkness could be entrained to a cycle of high and low temperature, but only if the difference in temperature was large (38 °C versus 6 °C); some of the tested sparrows matched their activity to the warm phase, and others to the cold phase.

## Relationships with humans

The house sparrow is closely associated with humans. They are believed to have become associated with humans around 10,000 years ago. The Turkestan subspecies (P. d. bactrianus) is least associated with humans and considered to be evolutionarily closer to the ancestral noncommensal populations. Usually, the house sparrow is regarded as a pest, since it consumes agricultural products and spreads disease to humans and their domestic animals. Even birdwatchers often hold it in little regard because of its molestation of other birds. In most of the world, the house sparrow is not protected by law. Attempts to control house sparrows include the trapping, poisoning, or shooting of adults; the destruction of their nests and eggs; or less directly, blocking nest holes and scaring off sparrows with noise, glue, or porcupine wire. However, the house sparrow can be beneficial to humans, as well, especially by eating insect pests, and attempts at the large-scale control of the house sparrow have failed.

The house sparrow has long been used as a food item. From around 1560 to at least the 19th century in northern Europe, earthenware "sparrow pots" were hung from eaves to attract nesting birds so the young could be readily harvested. Wild birds were trapped in nets in large numbers, and sparrow pie was a traditional dish, thought, because of the association of sparrows with lechery, to have aphrodisiac properties. A traditional Indian medicine, Ciṭṭukkuruvi lēkiyam in Tamil, was sold with similar aphrodisiac claims. Sparrows were also trapped as food for falconers' birds and zoo animals. During the 1870s, there were debates on the damaging effects of sparrows in the House of Commons in England. In the early part of the 20th century, sparrow clubs culled many millions of birds and eggs in an attempt to control numbers of this perceived pest, but with only a localised impact on numbers. House sparrows have been kept as pets at many times in history, though they have no bright plumage or attractive songs, and raising them is difficult. The house sparrow has an extremely large range and population, so it is assessed as least concern for conservation on the IUCN Red List.

## Population decline

The IUCN estimates for the global population runs up to nearly 1.4 billion individuals, second among all wild birds perhaps only to the red-billed quelea in abundance (although the quelea is, unlike the sparrow, restricted to a single continent and has never been subject to human introductions). However, populations have been declining in many parts of the world, especially near its Eurasian places of origin. These declines were first noticed in North America, where they were initially attributed to the spread of the house finch, but have been most severe in Western Europe. Declines have not been universal, as no serious declines have been reported from Eastern Europe, but have even occurred in Australia, where the house sparrow was introduced recently.

In Great Britain, populations peaked in the early 1970s, but have since declined by 68% overall, and about 90% in some regions. The RSPB lists the house sparrow's UK conservation status as red. In London, the house sparrow almost disappeared from the central city. The numbers of house sparrows in the Netherlands have dropped in half since the 1980s, so the house sparrow is even considered an endangered species. This status came to widespread attention after a female house sparrow, referred to as the "Dominomus", was killed after knocking down dominoes arranged as part of an attempt to set a world record. These declines are not unprecedented, as similar reductions in population occurred when the internal combustion engine replaced horses in the 1920s and a major source of food in the form of grain spillage was lost.

Declines have been particularly apparent even in North America, where the house sparrow is invasive in some states. Introduced to Philadelphia initially in 1852 the house sparrow rapidly spread across the nation. However, the bird has largely disappeared from the city nowadays and overall, it is estimated to have declined in North America by 84% since 1966.

In South Asia, the house sparrow has largely vanished from major cities such as Karachi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Lahore.

Various causes for the dramatic decreases in population have been proposed, including predation, in particular by Eurasian sparrowhawks; electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones; and diseases such as avian malaria. A shortage of nesting sites caused by changes in urban building design is probably a factor, and conservation organisations have encouraged the use of special nest boxes for sparrows. A primary cause of the decline seems to be an insufficient supply of insect food for nestling sparrows. Declines in insect populations result from an increase of monoculture crops, the heavy use of pesticides, the replacement of native plants in cities with introduced plants and parking areas, and possibly the introduction of unleaded petrol, which produces toxic compounds such as methyl nitrite.

Protecting insect habitats on farms and planting native plants in cities benefit the house sparrow, as does establishing urban green spaces. To raise awareness of threats to the house sparrow, World Sparrow Day has been celebrated on 20 March across the world since 2010. Over the recent years, the house sparrow population has been on the decline in many Asian countries, and this decline is quite evident in India. To promote the conservation of these birds, in 2012, the house sparrow was declared as the state bird of Delhi.

### Cultural associations

To many people across the world, the house sparrow is the most familiar wild animal and, because of its association with humans and familiarity, it is frequently used to represent the common and vulgar, or the lewd. One of the reasons for the introduction of house sparrows throughout the world was their association with the European homeland of many immigrants. Birds usually described later as sparrows are referred to in many works of ancient literature and religious texts in Europe and western Asia. These references may not always refer specifically to the house sparrow, or even to small, seed-eating birds, but later writers who were inspired by these texts often had the house sparrow in mind. In particular, sparrows were associated by the ancient Greeks with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, due to their perceived lustfulness, an association echoed by later writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. Jesus's use of "sparrows" as an example of divine providence in the Gospel of Matthew also inspired later references, such as that in Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Gospel hymn His Eye Is on the Sparrow.

## See also

- House bunting
- House finch
- House wren

Species of bird


History of The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom starring the animated Simpson family, which was created by Matt Groening. He conceived of the characters in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office and named them after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show called The Simpsons, which debuted on December 17, 1989. The show was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the top 30 ratings in a season (1990).

The show was controversial from its beginning and has made the news several times. In the early seasons, some parents characterized Bart as a poor role model for children and several United States public schools even banned The Simpsons merchandise and T-shirts. In January 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush made a speech during his re-election campaign in which he said: "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." In 2002, the show was nearly sued by the Rio de Janeiro tourist board for creating an unreal image of the city on the show.

The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and 27, 2007. Previous attempts to create a film version of The Simpsons failed due to the lack of a script of appropriate length and production crew members. Eventually, producers Brooks, Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully, and Richard Sakai began development of the film in 2001. They conceived numerous plot ideas, with Groening's being the one developed into a film. The script was re-written over a hundred times, and this creativity continued after animation had begun in 2006. The film was a box office success, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews.

The Simpsons eventually became the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series. Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast episodes and its 35th season will begin airing on October 1, 2023.

## The Tracey Ullman shorts (1987–1989)

When producer James L. Brooks was working on the television variety show The Tracey Ullman Show for the fledgling Fox network, he decided that he wanted to include small animated sketches before and after the commercial breaks. After Polly Platt gifted James L. Brooks the original "The Los Angeles Way of Death" comic from cartoonist Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strips, Brooks asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts, which Groening initially intended to present as his Life in Hell series. Groening later realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work, and passed on the offer. Richard Sakai contacted Groening to see if he had any other characters he would be willing to let Fox merchandise, and, in short, Groening developed a dysfunctional family that became the Simpsons. Garth Ancier contends that Groening created the characters at home and brought them the next day, while Phil Roman claims Groening sketched out the characters on the drive to Fox. Groening's account states he hurriedly formulated The Simpsons while waiting in the lobby of Brooks's office for the pitch meeting, which is the most common and famous story. He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name, adapting an anagram of the word "brat".

Fox negotiated a deal which would prove extremely lucrative for Groening, in which he retained a large portion of revenue from merchandising. To animate the short segments, Brooks and company settled on Klasky Csupo, a small animation house who offered to produce the cartoons cheaply. Brooks initially just wanted to animate the shorts through the basic line drawings, and Klasky-Csupo offered color for the same cost. The studio only employed three young animators—CalArts graduates Bill Kopp, Wes Archer, and David Silverman—who adapted Groening's scripts for animation in one week, doing layouts, animation and inbetweening by hand in a very short amount of time. Groening submitted only basic sketches to the three, and assumed that the figures would be cleaned-up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial short episodes. Colorist Gyorgyi Peluce was the person who decided to make the characters yellow.

Appearing initially alongside cartoons by M. K. Brown, the Simpson family first appeared in short subjects in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987, and were featured the first three seasons. The actors who voiced the characters would later reprise their roles in The Simpsons. Dan Castellaneta, a Tracey Ullman cast member, performed the voices of Homer Simpson, Abraham Simpson, and Krusty the Clown. Homer's voice in the shorts is a loose impression of Walter Matthau, whereas it became more robust and humorous on the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions. Julie Kavner (another Tracey Ullman cast member), Nancy Cartwright, and Yeardley Smith performed the voices of Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, and Lisa Simpson respectively. The crew began to string the clips together on tape to play for the show's live audience, and The Simpsons generated "the biggest laughs of the show" according to John Ortved, author of The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History. The writing staff of Ullman soon began to view The Simpsons as poor relations due to the popularity, and Brooks began to consider adapting the shorts for its own half-hour series. Brooks' decision was partly inspired by the cheerleading of David Silverman, who drunkenly approached him at a Christmas party and suggested the idea, passionately emphasizing what a primetime series would mean for the animation industry.

## The Groening, Brooks, and Simon years (1989–1991)

In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. Due to the increased workload of the full-length episodes, production was subcontracted to South Korean animation studio AKOM. While character and background layout is done by the domestic studio, tweening, coloring and filming is done by the overseas studio.

The Simpsons was co-developed by Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon, a writer-producer with whom Brooks had worked on previous projects. Groening said his goal was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash". Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content. The Fox network was unsure if the show could sustain the audience's attention for the duration of the episode. They proposed doing three seven-minute shorts per episode and four specials until the audience adjusted, but the producers gambled by asking Fox for 13 full-length episodes.

Simon assembled and led the initial team of writers, and has been credited as "developing [the show's] sensibility". Writer Ken Levine says he "brought a level of honesty to the characters" and made them "three-dimensional", adding that Simon's "comedy is all about character, not just a string of gags". Simon saw The Simpsons as a chance to solve what he did not like about Saturday-morning cartoon shows. He wanted all the actors in a room together, instead of reading their lines separated from each other. In addition to Castellaneta, Kavner, Cartwright and Smith, actors Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria were added to the show's cast.

Groening developed a lengthy opening sequence to cut down on the animation necessary for each episode, but devised two gags as compensation for the repeated material each week. In the first gag, the camera zooms in on Springfield Elementary School, where Bart can be seen writing a message on the chalkboard. This message, which changes from episode to episode, has become known as the "chalkboard gag". The other gag is known as a "couch gag", in which a twist of events occur when the family meets to sit on their couch and watch television. Groening, who had not paid much attention to television since childhood, was unaware that title sequences of such length were uncommon by that time. The theme, which plays over the sequence, was composed by Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a "retro-style" theme. The piece, which took two days to create, has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.

The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989, with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The series was originally set to debut in the fall of 1989 with the episode "Some Enchanted Evening", but the producers discovered that the animation was so appalling that 70 percent of the episode needed to be redone. At the time there were only a few choices for animation style; usually, they would follow the style of Disney, Warner Bros., or Hanna-Barbera. The producers wanted a realistic environment in which the characters and objects could not do anything that was not possible in the real world. They considered aborting the series if the next episode "Bart the Genius" turned out as bad, but it only suffered from easily fixable problems. The debut was moved to December, and "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" became the first episode of the series. In some of the episodes of the first season, the characters act completely differently from in later seasons; Lisa, for example, is undisciplined and short-tempered, while Homer is the voice of reason; these roles are reversed in later episodes.

During the second season, The Simpsons aired the first Halloween special, "Treehouse of Horror". The annual series typically consist of four parts: an opening and Halloween-themed version of the credits, followed by three segments. These segments usually have a horror, science fiction or supernatural theme and quite often are parodies of films, novels, plays, television shows, Twilight Zone episodes, or old issues of EC Comics. Part of the attraction for the writers is that they are able to break the rules and include violence that would not make a regular episode. In some cases, the writers will have an idea that is too violent and far-fetched or too short for a normal episode, but can be used as a segment in the seasonal special. The first "Treehouse of Horror" episode was the first time that an alternate version of the theme airs over the end credits.

### Bartmania and criticism

The show was controversial from its beginning. The rebellious lead character at the time, Bart, frequently received no punishment for his misbehavior, which led some parents to characterize him as a poor role model for children. Several US public schools banned The Simpsons merchandise and T-shirts, such as one featuring Bart and the caption "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". In the season two opening episode "Bart Gets an 'F', Bart fails four consecutive history exams and the school psychiatrist recommends that Bart repeat the fourth grade. Several critics thought that the episode "Bart Gets an 'F'" was a response to these controversies. However, Brooks denied that it was a response and added, "we're mindful of it. I do think it's important for us that Bart does badly in school. There are students like that. Besides, I'm very wary of television where everybody is supposed to be a role model. You don't run across that many role models in real life. Why should television be full of them?"

In the October 1, 1990, edition of People, First Lady Barbara Bush called The Simpsons "the dumbest thing [she] had ever seen" which led to the writers sending a letter to Bush posing as Marge Simpson. Bush immediately sent a reply in which she apologized. A few years later, on January 27, 1992, then-President of the United States George H. W. Bush made a speech during his re-election campaign where he said, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." The writers decided that they wanted to respond by adding a response to the next broadcast of The Simpsons, which was a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" on January 30. The broadcast included a new tongue-in-cheek opening where they watch Bush's speech. Bart replies, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too". The criticism eventually led to the idea for the episode "Two Bad Neighbors", which has George and Barbara move into the house across the street from the Simpsons.

### Competing with The Cosby Show

The Simpsons first season was the Fox network's first TV series to rank among a season's top 30 highest-rated shows. Due to its success, the Fox network decided to switch The Simpsons timeslots in hopes that it would result in higher ratings for the lead out shows. It would move from 8:00 PM on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday where it would compete with The Cosby Show, the number one show at the time. Many of the producers were against the move, as The Simpsons had been in the top 10 while airing on Sunday and they felt the move would destroy its ratings.

"Bart Gets an 'F' was the first episode to air against The Cosby Show and averaged an 18.4 Nielsen rating and 29% of the audience. In the weeks ratings, it finished tied for eighth behind The Cosby Show which had an 18.5 rating. However, an estimated 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of the Fox Network and still remains the most watched episode in the history of The Simpsons. Ratings wise, new episodes of The Cosby Show beat The Simpsons every time during the second season and The Simpsons eventually fell out of the top 10. At the end of the season Cosby averaged as the fifth highest rated show on television while The Simpsons ranked 38th. It would not be until the third-season episode "Homer at the Bat" that The Simpsons would beat The Cosby Show in the ratings. The show remained in its Thursday timeslot until the sixth season, when it moved back to its original timeslot on Sundays.

### Music release and "Do the Bartman"

David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records, had the idea to record the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues based on The Simpsons, to be released in time for Christmas 1990. The writers wrote humorous lyrics for the actors to perform over blues and hip hop. The album faced great publicity before its release. One particular element that was highly publicized was Michael Jackson's involvement, which was denied around the time of the album's release. Early published reports attributed Jackson as the composer of "Do the Bartman", which Groening denied in a press release. However, Groening revealed in 1998 that "Do the Bartman" was actually co-written and co-produced by Jackson, but he could not receive credit for it because he was under contract to another record label. Jackson was a fan of The Simpsons, especially Bart, and had called the producers one night offering to write Bart a number one single and do a guest spot on the show, which is how "Do the Bartman" came about. Jackson eventually guest-starred in the episode "Stark Raving Dad".

The album The Simpsons Sing the Blues was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 3 million copies. The producers followed up on the album with The Yellow Album in 1998, which featured original recordings by Prince, Linda Ronstadt, C+C Music Factory, and George Clinton of Funkadelic as well as the cast of The Simpsons. The soundtrack albums Songs in the Key of Springfield (1997), Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons (1999), The Simpsons Movie: The Music (2007), and The Simpsons: Testify (2007) were also released.

## The Jean and Reiss years (1991–1993)

Although they initially worked well together, Simon and Groening's relationship became "very contentious" according to Groening. According to John Ortved's book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, Simon resented the media attention Groening received, particularly the praise for the show's writing; Simon felt that Groening's involvement was limited, and that he should have been the one receiving credit for the show. As well as Groening, Simon was often at odds with Brooks and production company Gracie Films and left the show in 1993. Before leaving, he negotiated a deal that saw him receive a share of the show's profits every year, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since. Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had written for The Simpsons since the start of the show, took over as showrunners for the third season. Compared to being an executive producer, the showrunner position is more involved with the show and acts as head writer and manages the show's production for an entire season. As well as a turnover in the staff, The Simpsons moved the production of the animation from Klasky Csupo to Film Roman in season four.

During the fourth season the episode "A Streetcar Named Marge" was produced. The musical within the episode contains a controversial song about New Orleans, which describes the city as a "home of pirates, drunks and whores", among other things. Jeff Martin, the writer of the episode, had meant the song to be a parody of the opening number in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which speaks of London in unflattering terms. A New Orleans critic viewed "A Streetcar Named Marge" and published the song lyrics in his newspaper before the episode aired. Many readers took the lyrics out of context, and New Orleans' Fox affiliate, WNOL, received about one hundred complaints on the day the episode aired. Several local radio stations also held on-air protests in response to the song. The Simpsons' producers rushed out an apologetic chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic", which aired a week after "A Streetcar Named Marge". It read, "I will not defame New Orleans".

Ullman filed a lawsuit in 1992, claiming that her show was the source of The Simpsons' success and therefore should receive a share of the show's profit. "I breast-fed those little devils," Ullman once said of The Simpsons. She wanted a share of The Simpsons''' merchandising and gross profits and believed she was entitled to \$2.5 million of Fox's estimated \$50 million in 1992. The Fox network had paid her \$58,000 in royalties for The Simpsons as well as \$3 million for the 31⁄2 seasons her show was on the air. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network.

## The Mirkin years (1993–1995)

Several of the show's original writers who had worked on The Simpsons since the first season had left following the completion of season four. David Mirkin took over as showrunner and executive producer for the fifth and sixth season. In The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History (2009), John Ortved describes Mirkin as an "outsider" on the show as, unlike the bulk of the writing staff, Mirkin was not a Harvard University graduate. The writing staff were, at least initially, divided on Mirkin's abilities as a leader. Mirkin conducted the show's writing sessions in one room, rather than splitting the writers into two groups as other showrunners had done, and often worked late into the night. Writer Richard Appel praised Mirkin's leadership and comedy style, saying that "the shows were great under him." In contrast to much of Ortved's account, in a 2004 interview with Animation Magazine, Mirkin stated that he "really wasn't at all intimidat[ed] to join [the show's writing] crew," because he "had worked with and written with" many of his fellow writers previously.

Mirkin said that he "brought [the show] back to a more story-oriented" approach and increased the character and emotion focus, while "at the same time still keeping it surreal and weird". During his tenure, Mirkin moved the show's focus towards Homer, and developed some of the secondary characters, such as Apu. He also strongly opposed censorship and network interference. Mirkin's era and style of humor are popular amongst the show's fans, but the writing staff were divided on his style of humor, which saw the show move away from more "realistic" emotional and character based stories to "pure comedy" and "surreal" humor. The episode "Deep Space Homer" was controversial when the episode was in production. Some of the writers felt that having Homer go into space was too "large" of an idea and Groening felt that the idea was so big that it gave the writers "nowhere to go".

The writing staff wanted to do an episode where the Simpsons family traveled to Australia. They had previously poked fun at several American institutions and thought it would be interesting to poke fun at a whole nation. They purposefully designed Australia and the Australian people very inaccurately and many things were completely made up for fun. The episode "Bart vs. Australia" received a mixed reception in Australia, with some Australian fans saying the episode was a mockery of their country. Shortly after it had aired, the Simpsons staff received over 100 letters from Australians who were insulted by the episode. Reiss claimed that this episode is Australia's least favorite, and that "whenever we have the Simpsons visit another country, that country gets furious, including Australia". He also claimed that they were "condemned in the Australian Parliament after the episode had aired". However, It has been accepted as typical American satire and laughed off.

Former showrunners Jean and Reiss had left to produce their own series, The Critic, along with The Simpsons co-creator Brooks. The Critic was a short-lived animated series that revolved around the life of movie critic Jay Sherman. For the second season of The Critic, Brooks cut a deal with the Fox network to have the series switch over. The episode "A Star Is Burns" was pitched by Brooks, who had wanted a crossover that would help launch The Critic on Fox, and he thought having a film festival in Springfield would be a good way to introduce Sherman. In addition, Jean and Reiss returned to produce two episodes ("A Star is Burns" and 'Round Springfield") with the staff of The Critic, to relieve some of the stress on The Simpsons' writing staff. Groening felt that the crossover was a thirty-minute advertisement for another show and blamed Brooks, calling it an attempt to get attention for one of his unsuccessful shows. After unsuccessful attempts to get the episode pulled, he decided to go public with his concerns shortly before the episode aired and had his name removed from the credits. In response, Brooks said, "for years, Al [Jean] and Mike [Reiss] were two guys who worked their hearts out on this show, staying up until 4 in the morning to get it right. The point is, Matt's name has been on Mike's and Al's scripts and he has taken plenty of credit for a lot of their great work. In fact, he is the direct beneficiary of their work. 'The Critic' is their shot and he should be giving them his support."

Groening conceived the idea of an episode in which the character Mr. Burns was shot, which could be used as a publicity stunt. The writers decided to write the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" in two parts with a mystery that could be used in a contest. Part one was the final episode of the sixth season and originally aired on the Fox network on May 21, 1995. Part two was the premiere of the seventh season and originally aired on September 17, 1995. It was important for the writers to design a mystery that had clues, took advantage of freeze frame technology, and was structured around one character who seemed the obvious culprit. In the months following the broadcast of the first part, there was widespread debate among fans of the series as to who shot Mr. Burns. Fox offered a contest to tie in with the mystery where the viewers could guess who the culprit was. It ran from August 13 to September 10 and was one of the first contests to tie together elements of television and the internet. Fox launched a new website, www.Springfield.com, devoted to the mystery which got over 500,000 hits during the summer of 1995. The winner would be animated on an episode of the show. No one, however, was ever animated on the show. This was because no one officially guessed the right answer, so the chosen winner did not have the right answer and was paid a cash prize in lieu of being animated.

## The Oakley and Weinstein years (1995–1997)

After season six, Mirkin suggested that Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein take over as showrunners, but remained on the show in an advisory capacity, helping them with technical aspects of the show such as editing and sound mixing, and attending the scripts' table readings. Oakley and Weinstein wanted to produce Treehouse of Horror episodes, episodes about Sideshow Bob, Itchy & Scratchy and several "format-bending" episodes such as "22 Short Films About Springfield". They aimed for "at least two episodes per season that 'pushed the envelope', [and] expanded the definition of what an episode could be." Season eight featured several episodes in which focus was given to secondary characters and in which new issues, such as divorce, were explored. Their preferred choice of guest stars were those with unique and interesting voices, and several of their guest stars were "old grizzled men with distinctive voices".

Their goal for the episodes was to be realistic and focus more on the five members of the Simpson family and explore their feelings and emotions towards each other. Oakley considered season three to be the single greatest comedic season of television ever produced and so attempted to recreate the feel of that season, focusing on stories with real emotions and situations, as well as some off-the-wall episodes. Season three was their basis for Homer: "We liked Homer the way he was in the second and third seasons. That was what we consciously used as our model. Dimwitted, loving, hyper-enthusiastic, creatively goofy, parody of the American father – drawn with real emotions, though admittedly amplified."

The script supervisor for the show and voice of the character Lunchlady Doris, Doris Grau, died on December 30, 1995. The episode "Team Homer", which aired eight days later, was one of the last episodes to feature her voice and featured a dedication to her. From season nine until season eighteen, Lunchlady Doris appeared only as a background character. She returned as a speaking character in several episodes since "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", and is now voiced by Tress MacNeille.

The episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" featured a permanent character development when Lisa becomes a vegetarian. The story had been pitched by David S. Cohen and the producers felt it would be a surefire way to get Paul McCartney to guest star. McCartney agreed, but only on the condition that Lisa would stay a vegetarian and not revert. The trait stayed and is one of the few permanent character changes made in the show. In the season 13 episode "She of Little Faith", Lisa underwent another permanent character change when she converted to Buddhism.

On February 9, 1997, The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones with the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" as the longest-running prime-time animated series in the United States. The producers took this milestone and made the episode deal with the issue of longevity and the problems that arise when the producers try to make a show "fresh" again; themes commonly known as "jumping the shark". Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger, in a review printed two days after the episode originally aired, praised the writers for not airing a "very special" episode to celebrate the milestone of overtaking The Flintstones. He noted "[the episode is] so self-aware it put the best in-jokes on St. Elsewhere to shame."

## The Scully years (1997–2001)

Oakley and Weinstein stood down as showrunners after season eight because they "didn't want to break [the show]" and Mike Scully took over as showrunner in 1997. As showrunner and executive producer, Scully said his aim was to "not wreck the show", Scully was popular with the staff members, many of whom praised his organization and management skills. Writer Tom Martin said he was "quite possibly the best boss I've ever worked for" and "a great manager of people" while writer Don Payne commented that for Scully "it was really important that we kept decent hours". Scully noted: "I wrote a lot of Lisa's shows. I have five daughters, so I like Lisa a lot. I like Homer, too. Homer comes very naturally to me: I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. A lot of my favorite episodes are the ones when Homer and Lisa are in conflict with each other... They're very human, I think that's their appeal."

Despite this, Scully's tenure as showrunner of The Simpsons has been the subject of criticism from the show's fans. John Ortved wrote "Scully's episodes excel when compared to what The Simpsons airs nowadays, but he was the man at the helm when the ship turned towards the iceberg." The BBC noted "the common consensus is that The Simpsons' golden era ended after season nine", while an op-ed in Slate by Chris Suellentrop argued The Simpsons changed from a realistic show about family life into a typical cartoon during Scully's years. The Simpsons under Scully has been negatively labelled as a "gag-heavy, Homer-centric incarnation" by Jon Bonné of MSNBC, while some fans have bemoaned the transformation in Homer's character during the era, from dumb yet well-meaning to "a boorish, self-aggrandizing oaf", dubbing him "Jerkass Homer". Martin said that he does not understand the criticism against Scully and that he thinks the criticism "bothered [Scully], and still bothers him, but he managed to not get worked up over it." Ortved noted in his book that it is hard to tell how much of the decline is Scully's fault, and that blaming a single showrunner for lowering the quality of the show "is unfair."

UGO Networks' Brian Tallerico has defended the season against the criticism. He wrote in a 2007 review that comparing "tenth season Simpsons episodes to the prime of the series (3–7) is just unfair and really kind of self-defeating. 'Yeah, I laughed, but not as hard as a couple of years ago. So it sucks.' That's nonsense. The fact is that even the tenth season of The Simpsons was funnier than most [other] show's best years." PopMatters' Hassenger commented in his review that although the show had declined in quality, "this is not to say that these episodes are without their charm; many, in fact, are laugh-out-loud funny and characteristically smart."

On May 28, 1998, Phil Hartman, voice actor of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz, was shot and killed by his wife while he slept in their Encino, Los Angeles, home. His wife, Brynn Omdahl, then committed suicide several hours later. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly opined that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper...a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". After Hartman's death in 1998, rather than replace him with a new voice actor, the production staff retired McClure and Hutz from the show. McClure last appeared in the season ten episode "Bart the Mother", which was dedicated to Hartman.

In the season 10 episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", the family travels to Japan. The episode references and mocks several aspects of Japanese and American culture, as well as differences between the two. At a sumo wrestling match, Bart and Homer encounter the Japanese emperor, Akihito. After Homer throws him into a trunk of sumo thongs, Bart and Homer are put in jail, where they have to re-enact a kabuki play about the forty-seven Ronin, do origami, flower arranging and meditation. The episode also references the Japanese's adaption to American culture. Although all other episodes of The Simpsons have been dubbed and broadcast on Japanese television, "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" has never aired in Japan. The episode, which contains a scene showing Homer throwing the Emperor of Japan into a box filled with sumo thongs, was considered disrespectful.

### Labor difficulties

Up until the production of season ten in 1998, the six main voice actors were paid \$30,000 per episode. In 1998, a salary dispute between them and the Fox Broadcasting Company arose, with the actors threatening to strike. Fox went as far as preparing for casting of new voices, but an agreement was soon made and their salaries were raised to \$125,000 per episode. Groening expressed his sympathy for the actors in an issue of Mother Jones a while after the salary dispute had been settled. He told the magazine: "[The cast members] are incredibly talented, and they deserve a chance to be as rich and miserable as anyone else in Hollywood." The show also made a change for the writers to become covered under a Writers Guild of America (WGA) agreement. Most writers on primetime series television belong to the WGA, but The Simpsons as well as other animated shows on Fox were different. Scully commented that "everyone expected a big fight with the studio" and continued that "it never materialized, because they conceded that prime-time animation was successful and everyone was benefiting."

Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons in spring 1999 after a pay dispute with Fox. The network originally reported that she decided to quit only because she was tired of flying between Denver and Los Angeles for the recording sessions. It was then announced by Roswell that she had asked for a raise, not only because she was tired of the traveling, but because of the increasing cost of flight tickets. Roswell was paid \$1,500 to \$2,000 per episode during the three seasons before she left, and she asked Fox for a raise to \$6,000 per episode. However, Fox only offered her a \$150 raise, which did not even cover the travel costs, so she decided to quit. As a result of Roswell's departure, the Maude Flanders character was killed off in the episode "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily". Voice actress Marcia Mitzman Gaven was hired to fill in for Roswell's other characters. Roswell returned to The Simpsons in 2002 in the season premiere of the fourteenth season. She reached a deal with Fox to record her lines from her Denver home and thus the dispute ended.

## The return of Jean (2001–2007)

Jean returned full-time to The Simpsons during the tenth season. He once again became showrunner with the start of the thirteenth season in 2001, this time without Reiss. Jean said that "the hardest thing at this point is just thinking of fresh ideas. People are so on top of things that we've done before, so the challenge now is to think of an idea that's good, but hasn't been seen." In April 2001, in an interview with The New York Times, Jean stated that he wanted "to take the show back to the family". His return was welcomed, with MSNBC's Jon Bonné stating: "[Jean] has guided the show away from its gag-heavy, Homer-centric incarnation... these are certainly brighter days for the show's long-time fans." Bill Gibron of PopMatters.com noted that "the show corralled much of its craziness for more personal stories" and that "Homer's Neanderthal nonsense and bratty Bart gave way to 'softer' episodes focusing on Marge and Lisa."

In the season 13 episode "Blame It on Lisa", The Simpsons visit Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In the week following the episode's original broadcast, it faced intense controversy involving the country of Brazil, most specifically the Rio de Janeiro Tourist Board (Riotur). The board claimed that the city was portrayed as having rampant street crime, kidnappings, slums and a rat infestation. The tourist board asserted that the show "went too far" and undermined an \$18m (£12.5m) advertising campaign to attract visitors to the city. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, then the president of Brazil, stated that the episode "brought a distorted vision of Brazilian reality." By April 9, Riotur, was preparing to sue the producers and Fox, for damage to its international image and loss of revenue. The issue threatened to become a diplomatic incident. Upon knowledge of an impending lawsuit, the show's producers contacted Fox lawyers, who informed them that a city could not technically sue for defamation. In response, executive producer Brooks apologized, stating "we apologize to the lovely city and people of Rio de Janeiro". Jean commented that it was "one of the biggest controversies in the history of the show".

In season 14, production switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint. The first episode to experiment with digital coloring was "Radioactive Man" in 1995. Animators used digital ink and paint during production of the season 12 episode "Tennis the Menace", but Gracie Films delayed the regular use of digital ink and paint until two seasons later. The already completed "Tennis the Menace" was broadcast as made.

As the show's revenue continued to rise through syndication and DVD sales, the main cast stopped appearing for script readings in April 2004. The work stoppage occurred after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations with Fox, in which the cast asked for an increase in their pay to \$360,000 per episode, or \$8 million over a 22-episode season. The strike was resolved a month later and their salary was raised to something between \$250,000 and \$360,000 per episode.

Season 16 featured one of the few major character developments since the show's inception. It was reported a long time in advance of the airing of the episode "There's Something About Marrying" that a major character would come out as gay during the episode. At the San Diego Comic-Con International convention in July 2004, Al Jean revealed: "We have a show where, to raise money, Springfield legalises gay marriage. Homer becomes a minister by going on the internet and filling out a form. A long-time character comes out of the closet, but I'm not saying who." This led to much media speculation and publicity in the press for the episode. Many fans correctly guessed that it would be one of Homer's sisters-in-law, either Patty or Selma, while others believed it to be Waylon Smithers.

## Film (2007)

20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Film Roman produced an animated The Simpsons film that was released on July 27, 2007. The production staff of The Simpsons had entertained the thought of a film since early in the series, but production never came together. Groening felt a feature-length film would allow them to increase the show's scale and animate sequences too complex for a TV series. The film was directed by David Silverman and written by a team of Simpsons writers comprising Groening, Brooks, Jean, Reiss, Mirkin, Scully, George Meyer, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, Matt Selman, and Ian Maxtone-Graham. Work continued on the screenplay from 2003 onwards and did not cease, taking place in the small bungalow where Groening first pitched The Simpsons in 1987. Groening read about a town that had to get rid of pig feces in their water supply, which inspired the plot of the film. He also wanted to make the film dramatically stronger than a TV episode, as "we wanna really give you something that you haven't seen before." Production of the film occurred alongside continued writing of the series despite long-time claims by those involved in the show that a film would enter production only after the series had concluded.

After winning a Fox and USA Today competition, Springfield, Vermont hosted the film's world premiere. The Simpsons Movie grossed a combined total of \$74 million in its opening weekend in the US, taking it to the top of the box office, and set the record for highest grossing opening weekend for a film based on a television series, surpassing Mission: Impossible 2. It opened at the top of the international box office, taking \$96 million from seventy-one overseas territories — including \$27.8 million in the United Kingdom, making it Fox's second highest opening ever in that country. In Australia, it grossed A\$13.2 million, the biggest opening for an animated film and third largest opening weekend in the country. As of November 23, 2007, the film has a worldwide gross of \$525,267,904. The film garnered a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 171 of a total 191 reviews being determined as positive. It received a rating of 80 out of 100 (signifying "generally favorable reviews") on Metacritic from 36 reviews.

## Post movie seasons (2007–19)

Jean continued as showrunner after the movie. Critics have argued that the quality of the show has declined in Jean's tenure. Jacob Burch, an administrator of the website NoHomers.com, said in an interview that the show "seems less cohesive, more about trying to get the jokes in there, instead of make a story and let the jokes come off of that" and adds "I just think there's only so much you can do [with the characters]." Steven Hyden of The A.V. Club argues in an online debate over this issue that "The Simpsons has come to rely too much on wacky Homer shtick and tired, meaningless guest stars" and that the writers are "content to amuse themselves with in-jokes, non sequiturs, and self-consciously silly plot twists." Jean responded to this criticism by saying: "Well, it's possible that we've declined. But honestly, I've been here the whole time and I do remember in season two people saying, 'It's gone downhill.' If we'd listened to that then we would have stopped after episode 13. I'm glad we didn't."

The writers of The Simpsons went on strike together with the Writers Guild of America at the end of 2007. The broadcasting of The Simpsons was not affected by the strike. Since it takes a long time to produce an episode of an animated show, the episodes are written up to a year in advance. So the strike would have had to go on for a while for the show to have run out of new episodes. Production of season 19 was further delayed because of contract negotiations with the six main voice actors. The dispute was resolved, and the actors' salary was raised to \$400,000 per episode. The delay in production has caused the planned 22 episodes to be shortened to 20.

### 20th anniversary and run length record

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the premiere of The Simpsons, Fox announced a year-long celebration of the show titled "Best. 20 Years. Ever.", which ran from January 14, 2009, to January 14, 2010. Morgan Spurlock, an Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker (Best Documentary Feature for Super Size Me in 2004) and fan of The Simpsons since his college days, was asked to direct the special The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice! in February 2009. Spurlock believes "the reason [the producers] called [him] to begin with was to not have a show that would be a glad-hand, pat-everyone-on-the-back special, that's why rooting it in the people who kept this show on the air for the last 20 years is important." It was shown on January 10, 2010, alongside "Once Upon a Time in Springfield", which was promoted as the 450th episode of the series.

The episode "Million Dollar Maybe" featured a new character created by the winner of the "Best. Character. Ever." contest, in which fans could submit their own ideas for a new, and possibly recurring, Simpsons character. Over 25,000 entries were sent in. The winner of the contest was Peggy Black from Orange, Connecticut, who created the character Ricardo Bomba. She described Ricardo as "someone that all the women love and all the men want to be" and "something like a Casanova." Jean was one of the judges of the contest, which he described as "a thank you to loyal fans." He also noted that there is a possibility the Ricardo character might appear on the show again. Another change was to air The Simpsons in 720p high-definition television with the episode "Take My Life, Please" on February 15, 2009. With the new broadcasting system came a new opening sequence. It was the first major permanent change to the show's introduction since the beginning of the show's second season in 1990; previous changes have included variations in the duration of the intro. This new intro also includes some 3D animation when the camera pans over Springfield.

To commemorate the show's twentieth anniversary, the United States Postal Service unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The stamps, designed by Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009 and approximately one billion stamps were printed. The Simpsons is the first television series still in production to receive this recognition. After entering its 21st season in late 2009, the show beat Gunsmoke's record as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series.

### Cancellation threat

On October 4, 2011, 20th Century Fox Television released a statement saying: "23 seasons in, The Simpsons is as creatively vibrant as ever and beloved by millions around the world. We believe this brilliant series can and should continue, but we cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the voice cast that allows The Simpsons to go on entertaining audiences with original episodes for many years to come." One of the problems was that The Simpsons was possibly worth more cancelled than on the air. A 17-year-old syndication deal with local TV stations prohibits Fox from selling the show to cable networks. As long as The Simpsons still produces new episodes, Fox cannot break this deal. In the meantime, cable networks have grown to become just as big a market as the local TV stations. Another consideration was that Fox's parent company News Corp was having meetings discussing the possibility of a cable channel that would only air The Simpsons episodes. Analysts consider a cancellation and subsequent second-run deal that includes cable networks to be worth \$750 million. On this issue, Jean commented in an interview with TV Guide that "It's a big company, and there are definitely people whose interests would have been better served by ending it. Those interests were superseded because we're still valuable to the network in terms of our ratings."

For the negotiations, the studio requested that the cast members accept a 45 percent cut of their salaries so that more seasons could be produced after season 23, or else that season would be the series' last. The actors were willing to take a pay cut, but wanted a percentage of the back-end payments instead. At one point Shearer even offered a 70 percent pay cut in exchange for back-end percentages, but the studio was unwilling to make any deal involving back-end percentages. In the end, the studio and the actors reached a deal, in which the actors would take a pay cut of 30 percent, down to just over \$300,000 per episode, prolonging the show to its 25th season. As well as the voice actors, everybody involved in the show took a pay cut. This included animators, writers, the post-production crew and even Jean himself. The further use of digital animation also saves money, as the animation of the show becomes more efficient.

In 2013, FXX purchased the exclusive American cable rights to the series. In August 2014, a new website and app was launched called Simpsons World, which contained every episode from the show's first 25 seasons that were available for viewing with a valid cable login. The website, which updated regularly, was only available in the United States.

In 2016, The Simpsons moved the production of the animation from Film Roman to Fox Television Animation in season 28.

In February 2019, the series was renewed for a 31st and 32nd season bringing the series up to 713 episodes, making it the first scripted primetime series to surpass 700 episodes.

In March 2019, the episode Stark Raving Dad was pulled from circulation following the release of the Leaving Neverland documentary and renewed discussion of Michael Jackson's sexual abuse allegations.

## Acquisition by Disney and future (2019–present)

In March 2019, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, The Simpsons, among other franchises and studios owned by 21st Century Fox, became properties of The Walt Disney Company.

On April 11, 2019, it was announced that the series would stream exclusively on Disney+ at launch; as a result, Simpsons World was officially shut down on November 16 of that year, four days after Disney+'s launch. Initially, episodes from the first 20 seasons that were originally broadcast in the 4:3 aspect ratio were only available in a cropped 16:9 format, a move which received heavy criticism from fans. On May 28, 2020, Disney+ introduced a new feature that allows viewers to toggle between the original 4:3 aspect ratio and the remastered 16:9 ratio for seasons 1–20.

In May 2019, FXX's sister network Freeform began sharing the off-network rights to the series and began airing it on October 2, 2019.

As part of the series' 30th anniversary, FXX (in association with Disney+) aired a fourteen-day marathon titled The Simpsons: Plus Sized Holiday Marathon, airing 661 episodes and the movie. The marathon premiered exactly 30 years after the series premiere on December 17, 2019, at 8pm ET and concluded on January 1, 2020.

On February 27, 2020, Disney announced that a second short film based on the series, titled Playdate with Destiny, would release ahead of Pixar's Onward, making it the third piece of Simpsons media to be released in theaters.

On March 3, 2021, The Simpsons was renewed for a 33rd and 34th season, with a further extension for a 35th and 36th season on January 26, 2023.

## See also

- Historiography of The Simpsons''

Aspect of history surrounding The Simpsons

History of television in the United States