Simpsons Get 26th Season

BURBANK: FOX has renewed the global animated hit The Simpsons for a record 26th season, a week after season 25 premiered as Sunday's number one entertainment program in adults 18 to 49.

“For more than a quarter of a century, The Simpsons has captured the hearts and minds of fans in a way that transcends ages, languages and cultures,” said Kevin Reilly, chairman of FOX Broadcasting Company. “This groundbreaking series is not only the longest-running scripted show in television history, it’s one of the greatest sitcoms of our time, and I’m looking forward to yet another landmark season.”

The season 25 premiere was up 12 percent from last season's average, the network said in making the renewal. The re-up comes ahead of the broadcast of the show's annual Halloween episode, this one called “Treehouse of Horror XXIV,” in which director, screenwriter, producer and novelist Guillermo del Toro resurrects monsters and classic characters from horror films throughout history for the opening couch gag.

The series is distributed worldwide by Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution.