The Simpsonsis among the most influential television shows of all time, as it completely redefined what comedy could look like, particularly within the realm of animation. AlthoughThe Simpsonswas certainly aimed at lampooning the formulaic nature of “nuclear family” sitcoms that had been popular in the previous decades, it also developed its own style of animation that spawned many imitators. WithoutThe Simpsons, there would be noFamily Guy,South Park,Rick and Morty,BoJack Horseman,Bob’s Burgers, orAmerican Dad.
The Simpsonsis quite inconsistent when it comes to quality, as it is really only the first ten seasons of the show that fans refer to as its “golden age.” Although there have been the occasional new episodes that still feel like classicThe Simpsons, the show does sometimes debut very disappointing seasons. Here are the ten worstThe Simpsonsseasons, ranked.
The Simpsons
10Season 35 (2023–2024)
Number of Episodes: 18
One of the most recent seasons ofThe Simpsonsis also one of its worst, as the 35th installment of the show became less interested in exploring the familial dynamics that were quintessential to the show’s success. Much of the season is spent forcing the characters to be on opposite sides of different arguments, and feels entirely derivative of better episodes and storylines that had been made in earlier installments.
Season 35 suffered from too much emphasis on science fiction and fantastical elements, which had always been something thatThe Simpsonshad kept to a minimum in its older years. While it can be fun to watch theshow jump the sharkby embracing a looser definition of logic, episodes like “Bart’s Brain” and “Frinkinstein’s Monster” ruined the sense of authenticity that had made the show so accessible for generations.
9Season 28 (2016–2017)
Number of Episodes: 22
Season 28 is among the most mean-spirited installments ofThe Simpsons, as it focuses on many uncomfortable storylines involving friction in Homer and Marge’s marriage, Homer’s reckless driving, cheating with sports betting, corruption within a local church, and addiction to technology. Although the series has succeeded in the past in pushing the edge of good taste, the more purposefully offensive jokes within Season 28 felt like they would have been better suited to appear inSouth ParkorFamily Guy.
The Simpsonsalso struggled to feel in touch, as some of its parodies felt like they were several years too late. Although in theory, it was a good idea to develop a two-part episode to parody the popular seriesEmpire, the references to the series may have been lost on fans because the core series had already begun dipping in terms of quality.
8Season 12 (2000–2001)
Number of Episodes: 21
Season 12 seemed to confirm thatThe Simpsonswas in the midst of a downward spiral, proving that the dip in quality within the previous season had not just simply been a fluke. AlthoughThe Simpsonshas always succeeded when it parodies popular new movies, the homages to then-current hits likeGoandChildren of a Lesser Godnow feel incredibly dated.
Season 12 includes some of the all-timeworst episodes ofThe Simpsons; “Homer vs. Dignity” featured offensive humor that turned many viewers away from the show entirely, “Simpson Safari” indicated that the series had reached a new level of laziness, “New Kids on the Bleech” was a generic satire of the popularity of boy bands, and “Worst Episode Ever” was an unsuccessful attempt at trying to build out the backstory of Comic Book Guy that simply didn’t feel like a necessary addition to the show’s mythology.
7Season 30 (2018–2019)
Number of Episodes: 23
Despite opening with the underrated series premiere “Bart’s Not Dead,”Season 30 ofThe Simpsonsfelt far too derivative of previous seasons, as it spent too much time trying to lampoon current hits. Storylines involving Moe falling in love with a mysterious woman and the Simpsons family trying to save Krusty from destroying his career had been done better in previous seasons and didn’t reward viewers who had already dedicated themselves to the show.
Season 30 suffered from a greater emphasis on celebrity cameos; while it is nice whenThe Simpsonsis able to bring in guest starsin order to help service the story, Season 30 featured entirely bland cameos from celebrities likeGal Gadot,Jon Lovitz,Emily Deschanel,Tracy Morgan,RuPaul,Jane Lynch, andJ.K. Simmons, who sadly could not distract from the fact that there was little story for them to work with.
6Season 32 (2020–2021)
Season 32 was an ambitious season ofThe Simpsonsthat unfortunately felt short of actually working. While it was interesting to see thatThe Simpsonswas interested in examining Renaissance history in “Now Museum, Now You Don’t” and exploring the toxic side of fan culture in “Three Dream Denied,” the show’s writing was no longer capable of tackling these issues with any degree of subtlety.
The Simpsonsalso suffered from its production cycle, in which episodes were written fairly far in advance to give the animators time to flesh out their work. Although the episode themed around the 2020 Presidential Election betweenJoe BidenandDonald Trumpmay have been aclever work of political satireat the time that it was initially written, it felt very out-of-touch by the moment that it actually made it to air.
5Season 27 (2015–2016)
Season 27 was among the more cynical seasons ofThe Simpsons, as it featured many characters within the family acting in ways that felt completely different from the way that they had initially been conceived. Although Homer has always been a bit of a flawed, yet good-spirited father, Season 27 characterizes him as a rude, greedy jerk who is willing to sacrifice his family’s happiness for personal gain; likewise, Lisa and Bart are often at each other’s throats in tense arguments and rarely seem to show any interest in getting along with one another.
Season 27 also featured the notoriously terrible season finale “Orange is the New Yellow,” an attempt to make fun of the popular Netflix seriesOrange is the New Blackthat opted to make the laziest jokes imaginable and failed to produce any insightful works of satire.
4Season 11 (1999–2000)
Season 11 featured the single greatest decline in quality in the history of the show, as Season 10 could have still been justifiably considered to be on the tail-end of the series’ “Golden Era.” The issue with Season 11 is thatThe Simpsonsmade too many attempts to be zany, which resulted in a lack of the emotional authenticity that had helped distinguish it from other comedy shows.
Season 11 features some of the most legendarily terrible episodes within the history ofThe Simpsons, including the ridiculous horse riding episode “Saddlehorse Galactica,” the underdeveloped satire “Missionary Impossible,” the unusual Florida adventure episode “Kill the Alligator and Run,” and thecontroversial death of Maude Flanders, a very upsetting and dark decision that the series was never able to entirely justify. By the end of the season,The Simpsonsno longer felt like “essential television.”
3Season 24 (2012–2013)
The Simpsonsbegan to show signs that it was aging in Season 24, as the show began to run out of new ideas on how to take the family and supporting characters that live in Springfield. Although the episode “To Cur With Love” had the potential to make some salient points about the complex relationship between Homer and his father that had been built up in previous seasons, it ended by simply retaining the status quo and doing nothing to advance their dynamic.
The standout episodes of Season 24 were few and far between, as while the series was still able to prove itself capable of works of genius thanks to great installments like “A Test Before Trying,” it often stooped to making bland parodies of recent hit films and rehashing storylines that had been done much better in earlier seasons.
2Season 31 (2019–2020)
The Simpsonsfailed in its 31st season to truly embrace technology, as the incorporation of new gadgets and concepts in Springfield felt like an abrupt shift from what had made the series so refreshing. The idea of seeing Homer host a reality contest for influencers in “The Wizard of Out Monetized Contest” simply felt very cynical, and the satire of cryptocurrency in the episode “Frinkcoin” simply didn’t feel like it had anything to say about what is a fairly controversial issue.
Season 31 also featured one of the more underwhelmingtwo-part installments in the history ofThe Simpsons, which had traditionally been a highlight within previous seasons. The “Warrin’ Priests” storyline markedThe Simpsons’ genuine attempt to reckon with concepts of faith and community, but the dragged-out storyline failed to make Reverend Lovejoy into any more of an engaging character.
1Season 29 (2017–2018)
The worst thing that can be said about Season 20 ofThe Simpsonsis that it is entirely forgettable, with no episodes that can be identified as outliers. It’s somewhat sad to recognize that while there was a moment in the 1990s whenThe Simpsonswas one of the most dominant forces in all of popular culture, Season 29 felt like it was only appealing to niche fans who had watched the show since the beginning.
The Simpsonsshowed signs of its own irrelevance with the episode “The Serfsons,” a parody of theGame of Thronesphenomenon and the strange nature ofGeorge R.R. Martin’s extensive fictional universe. It was an episode that simply felt many years too late, as better satires ofGame of Throneshad already been done by rival animated shows likeSouth Park, Family Guy, andRobot Chicken.
