The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom that debuted on December 17, 1989, on the Fox network. The show is the longest-running prime time scripted television series in the United States. It has won many different awards, including 34 Emmy awards, 34 Annie Awards, nine Environmental Media Awards, twelve Writers Guild of America Awards, six Genesis Awards, eight People's Choice Awards, three British Comedy Awards, among other awards. Episodes of the show have won 11 Emmys in the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) category. However, The Simpsons has never been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, although the show was submitted in the category in 1993 and 1994. James L. Brooks, an executive producer on the show, won eleven Emmys for The Simpsons as well as ten for other shows and holds the record for most Primetime Emmys won by a single person, with 21, The Simpsons was the first animated series to be given a Peabody Award, won a second Peabody in 2020, and in 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As of 2022, The Simpsons have received a total of 100 Emmy nominations.
The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007, was nominated for several major awards, including a Golden Globe Award, while The Longest Daycare, a short film released in 2012, became the franchise's first production to be nominated for an Academy Award.
The Simpsons also holds two world records from the Guinness World Records: Longest-Running Primetime Animated Television Series and Most Guest Stars Featured in a Television Series.
Awards for The Simpsons
Annie Awards
First awarded in 1972, the Annie Awards are given exclusively to animated programs. The Simpsons has won 34 Annies, including 12 straight in the Best Animated Television Production category and winning in 2015 and 2016 for Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production.
* denotes nominated works with awards pending presentation and announcement
British Comedy Awards
The Simpsons has won three British Comedy Awards. Matt Groening also won a special award for Outstanding Contribution to Comedy in 2004.
Primetime Emmy Awards
The Simpsons has won 34 Primetime Emmy Awards in four categories, but has been nominated for 78 awards in nine different categories. Two of these nominations were for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", which was nominated in 1990 as a separate cartoon because officially it is considered a TV special and not a part of the series, however it is included in these statistics. The show's best year was 1992, when it won six Emmys, all for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. Until 2009, the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Emmy was awarded by a committee, so there were no nominations.
The Simpsons has been nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) every year except 1993, 1994 and 2014. 1993 marked the first year that the producers of The Simpsons did not submit episodes for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) Primetime Emmy Award. Prior to 1993, the series had only been allowed to compete in the animation category, but in early 1993 the rules were changed so that animated television shows would be able to submit nominations in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. The producers submitted "A Streetcar Named Marge" and "Mr. Plow" but the Emmy voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs, and The Simpsons did not receive a nomination. Several critics saw the show's failure to gain a nomination as one of the biggest snubs for that year. The Simpsons' crew again submitted episodes for "Outstanding Comedy Series" the next season, but these again were not nominated. Since then, the show has submitted episodes in the animation category.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
In 2014, the award was split into two different categories, Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance and Outstanding Narrator. Nominations and wins in 2014 and after are in the Character Voice-Over category.
Outstanding Music and Lyrics
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)