The Simpsons season 23

Voice cast & characters

Main article: List of The Simpsons characters

Main cast

• Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Charlie, Barney Gumble, Grampa Simpson, Arnie Pye, Groundskeeper Willie, Krusty the Clown, Kodos, Itchy, Santa's Little Helper, Sideshow Mel, Mayor Quimby, Hans Moleman, Rich Texan, Gil Gunderson, Mr. Teeny, Blue-Haired Lawyer, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Snowball II and various others
• Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier and Selma Bouvier
• Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, Database and various others
• Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
• Hank Azaria as Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson, Moe Szyslak, Snake, Superintendent Chalmers, The Grumple, Sea Captain, State Comptroller Atkins, Chief Wiggum, Lou, Wiseguy, Cletus Spuckler, Old Jewish Man, Dr. Nick Riviera, Professor Frink, Kirk Van Houten, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Nash Castor, Duffman, Julio, Luigi Risotto, Disco Stu, Drederick Tatum, Chazz Busby and various others
• Harry Shearer as Lenny Leonard, Kent Brockman, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Otto Mann, Dewey Largo, Mr. Burns, God, Kang, Scratchy, Jasper Beardly, Gary, Waylon Smithers, Judge Synder, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Hibbert, Nedward Flanders, Sr. and various others

Supporting cast

• Chris Edgerly as additional characters
• Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Janey Powell, Capri Flanders and various others
• Tress MacNeille as Dolph Shapiro, Lunchlady Dora, Mrs. Muntz, Agnes Skinner, Crazy Cat Lady, Brandine Spuckler, Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon, Allison Taylor, Shauna Chalmers, Cookie Kwan, Lindsay Naegle, Bernice Hibbert and various others
• Maggie Roswell as Elizabeth Hoover, Maude Flanders, Luann Van Houten and Helen Lovejoy
• Russi Taylor as Martin Prince, Sherri and Terri

Guest stars for the season included Kiefer Sutherland, mountaineer Aron Ralston, Jane Lynch, chefs Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay, author Neil Gaiman, Andy García, Joan Rivers, Armie Hammer, Jeremy Irons, Michael Cera, and artist Shepard Fairey.

Episodes

Guest stars: Tom Colicchio, Kevin Michael Richardson and Kiefer Sutherland

Guest stars: John Kricfalusi (credited for animating this episode's couch gag) and Theodore Roosevelt (through archival footage and audio recordings)

Guest stars: Jackie Mason and Aron Ralston as the 911 operator.

Guest star: Jane Lynch

Guest stars: Gordon Ramsay, Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim

Guest stars: Andy García and Neil Gaiman

Guest stars: Kevin Michael Richardson, John Slattery and Matthew Weiner

Guest stars: Kevin Dillon, Janeane Garofalo, Jackie Mason and Joan Rivers

Guest stars: Ted Nugent and Dana Gould

Guest stars: Armie Hammer, David Letterman

Guest star: Jeremy Irons

Guest stars: Michael Cera, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage

Guest stars: Julian Assange, Allison Krauss and Union Station, Kelsey Grammer and Jackie Mason

• This is the show's 500th episode.

Guest stars: Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal

Guest stars: Glenn Close and David Byrne

Guest star: Brent Spiner

Guest star: Kevin Michael Richardson with a special couch gag done by Bill Plympton

Guest star: Treat Williams and Steve Coogan

Guest stars: Bryan Cranston and Eric Idle

Guest star: Lady Gaga

Production

The season was ordered on November 11, 2010. Seven episodes were holdovers from the previous season. Al Jean continued his role as primary showrunner, a role he had since the thirteenth season. Starting this season, executive producer Matt Selman was also the showrunner for several episodes. This season featured the only episode written by Justin Hurwitz. It also featured the final episode written by Matt Warburton before leaving for the television series Community.

Viewer vote result

The season premiere episode "The Falcon and the D'ohman" features a reference to the previous episode of the series, the twenty-second season finale "The Ned-Liest Catch" that aired May 22, 2011. In that episode, the characters Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel started dating. The episode ends with Homer and Marge Simpson giving the viewers a link to the official The Simpsons website, TheSimpsons.com, and encouraging them to go on the website and vote over the summer of 2011 on whether Ned and Edna should stay together. Executive producer Al Jean said in an interview that the writers decided it would not be interesting for them to do another episode where a relationship ended, and they thought it would be interesting "to see what people think, the Internet certainly has a lot of opinion on the show, might as well have them have their say". When asked why the writers thought Ned and Edna were the right characters for a cliffhanger like this, Jean said that "In life, unusual things happen. People couple together in ways you would not expect, and he's single and she's single. We thought it would be funny, the fact that they both have these connections to the Simpsons but they never really met or if they have met it was minimal." The result of the poll were revealed in "The Falcon and the D'ohman". According to Jean, the poll was "very strong in one direction". He assured in an interview before the result was presented that the poll was authentic and the writers would not undo the viewers' decision, and added that "What our fans have joined together, let no writer tear asunder."

Cancellation threat

20th Century Fox Television released a statement on October 4, 2011, saying that "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." Analysts consider a cancellation and subsequent second-run deal that includes cable networks to be worth $750 million. On this issue, Al 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% 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, Harry Shearer even offered a 70% 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%, down to just over $300,000 per episode, renewing the show to its 25th season. As well as the voice actors, everybody involved in the show took a pay cut. This included the animators, writers, post-production crew and even Jean himself. The further use of digital animation also saved money, as the animation of the show became more efficient.

Reception

Ratings

The season premiere episode "The Falcon and the D'ohman" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 25, 2011. It was watched by approximately 8.08 million people during this broadcast. It received a 3.9 Nielsen rating in the demographic for adults aged 18–49, and a ten percent share. The ratings were up three percent compared to the last season's premiere. The Simpsons became the second highest-rated program in the 18–49 demographic in Fox's Animation Domination lineup that night, finishing before The Cleveland Show and American Dad! but after Family Guy. The Simpsons was, however, the most-watched show in the lineup in terms of total viewers.

For the 2011–2012 television season, the season earned a 3.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which was the 33rd best performing show. It averaged 6.95 million viewers, which was the 69th best performing show.

During the twenty-third season, the cost of a 30-second advertising spot would be $254,260 in an original broadcast. It is the fifth-most expensive show for advertisers on Fox, with only American Idol, The X Factor, Glee and Family Guy being more expensive.

Awards and nominations

At the 64th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the season was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program for "Holidays of Future Passed," and Hank Azaria was nominated for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his work in "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches."

At the 65th Writers Guild of America Awards, writer Jeff Westbrook won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for "Ned 'n' Edna's Blend Agenda." Writers Tim Long and J. Stewart Burns were also nominated for Writers Guild of America Awards for episodes written this season.

At the 39th Annie Awards, writer Carolyn Omine won for Outstanding Achievement for Writing for "Treehouse of Horror XXII." Annie Award nominations were also given to the animators for Production Design for "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches," to writers Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham for Writing for "How I Wet Your Mother," and to the couch gag of "Beware My Cheating Bart" for Best Short Subject.

Writer Marc Wilmore won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series at the 44th NAACP Image Awards for "The Spy Who Learned Me."

References

;Bibliography

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