The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company since 1989. In other countries, the television show started its broadcasts after 1989 either in its original English-language version or in a dubbed version.
By language
Arabic
The show was first broadcast in the area in English with Arabic subtitles on networks like Showtime Arabia and Dubai's One TV, where it received a following in the area.
The show was finally dubbed into Arabic in September 2005, under the title "Al-Shamshoon" (). In addition to being dubbed in Arabic (with subtitles provided for shots including written English, such as the chalkboards), references to alcohol, pork, and numerous other themes have been deleted or significantly modified. For instance, Homer drinks soda-pop instead of beer, eats beef sausages and hot dogs as opposed to pork, while shots of him eating bacon and pork rinds were removed entirely, eats ka'ak instead of donuts, and all references to Moe's Tavern were cut. References to Rabbi Krustofsky, Krusty the Clown's father, were removed as well. According to Richard Poplak of the CBC, an ex-Disney employee in Lebanon told him that, in Poplak's words, "if a TV station can help it, they’ll excise references to Judaism from shows meant for the pan-Arab market." Badih Fattouh, MBC 1's acquisitions and drama commissioner head, said, "You must understand that we did not simply dub, but we Arabized the concept, and we toned it down a bit. We toned [down] the language—we Arabized it in the cultural sense."
MBC 1, a company owned by Saudi Arabian sheiks, created the Arabic adaptation. Amr Hosny, a scriptwriter who frequently adapts works for the Arab world, served as the writer. The creative personalities behind Al-Shamshoon were Egyptian. The producers decided to adapt the "classic" episodes, beginning with Season 4, rather than starting with the original episodes. The characters were also given typical Arabic names such as Omar, Mona, Beesa and Badr for Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart, respectively, as part of the retooling, while voices were provided by leading actors including Egyptian film star Mohamed Henedi as "Omar". Their hometown "Springfield" was called "Rabeea" (Arabic for spring) and made it look like an American town with a major Arab population. Poplak said, "Although Fattouh and MBC will give no figures, the licence fees from 20th Century Fox could not have been cheap."
About the original series, Hosny said, "I loved it. I take off my chapeau: they are very good artists. And the writers are unbelievable. I loved the character of Homer. There is something very strange about this character. It’s very close to the Egyptian point of view. He’s a very simple and kind person; from some points of view you feel that he’s incredibly stupid, and from some points of view you feel he is wise. Sometimes I felt I was talking about an Egyptian person. Nothing is certain and taken for granted—it’s not ipso facto—and this makes good art". Hosny said that the sheiks who owned MBC interfered in the creative process, making the show more edited and less comprehensible. For instance, Hosny wanted to make a "Little Arab Town" where it would be explained why there were many Arab people living in the middle of the United States. The sheiks rejected Hosny's suggestions. Poplak said, "Instead, Springfield remained, and there was no coherent explanation given as to why a full Arab community exists within the middle of Middle America". Hosny wanted Homer to drink she'er, a non-alcoholic malt drink, so dubbing would be easy. The sheiks insisted that Homer should drink juice. Hosny also stated that he tried to underemphasize Waylon Smithers's homosexual attraction to Mr. Burns. Poplak said, "Through a steady process of cross-cultural attrition—no bacon sandwiches, no Moe’s Tavern, church becomes masjid (mosque)—The Simpsons was whittled down to a shadow of itself."