The Simpsons season 35

The thirty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons aired on Fox from October 1, 2023 to May 19, 2024. This was the first of two seasons ordered by Fox. It was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Television Animation. The primary showrunner for the season was Matt Selman.

Work from episodes this season was nominated for two Emmy Awards, two Writers Guild of America Awards, and one Humanitas Prize.

Main cast

 * Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Hans Moleman, Gil Gunderson, Barney Gumble, Mayor Quimby, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Arnie Pye, Sideshow Mel, Krusty the Clown, Yes Guy, Grampa Simpson, Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II, Groundskeeper Willie and various others
 * Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Jacqueline Bouvier, Patty Bouvier and Selma Bouvier
 * Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Database, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Todd Flanders and various others
 * Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
 * Hank Azaria as Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmers, Captain McCallister, Disco Stu, Kirk Van Houten, Moe Szyslak, Snake, Jebediah Springfield, Professor Frink, Raphael, Comic Book Guy, Cletus Spuckler, Coach Krupt, Luigi Risotto, Veterinarian, Old Jewish Man, Gabbo, Duffman and various others
 * Harry Shearer as Principal Skinner, Otto Mann, Lenny Leonard, Mr. Burns, Kent Brockman, Ned Flanders, Rainier Wolfcastle, Waylon Smithers, Reverend Lovejoy, Herman Hermann, Dewey Largo and various others

Supporting cast

 * Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders and various others
 * Tress MacNeille as Mrs. Muntz, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Agnes Skinner, Shauna Chalmers, Dolph Shapiro, Brandine Spuckler, Brunella Pommelhorst, Lunchlady Dora, Crazy Cat Lady, Mrs. Glick and various others
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Dr. Hibbert and various others
 * Kimberly Brooks as Janey Powell, Lewis Clark and various others
 * Grey DeLisle as Martin Prince, Sherri and Terri and various others
 * Alex Désert as Carl Carlson, Officer Lou and various others
 * Chris Edgerly as additional characters
 * Dawnn Lewis as Bernice Hibbert
 * Jonathan Lipow as Prehistoric Animals (in "Clan of the Cave Mom")
 * Tony Rodríguez as Julio
 * Maggie Roswell as Luann Van Houten, Helen Lovejoy, Elizabeth Hoover and various others
 * Jenny Yokobori as Kumiko Albertson, Truth-Anne and various others

Production
This season and the following season were ordered in January 2023. Seven episodes were holdovers from the previous season. Executive producer Matt Selman continued his role as primary showrunner, a role he had since the thirty-third season. Executive producer Al Jean was also showrunner for several episodes this season. Commenting on how the series stays relevant in its thirty-fifth season, Selman stated that the writers approach the show as if the series was new and not think about the show's past. Writer Cesar Mazariegos stated that the writers want to take the show in "zanier directions" that were previously reserved for Treehouse of Horror episodes.

Production of the season was halted in May 2023 by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. In June 2023, Selman and Jean organized a Simpsons themed picket outside the Fox Studios lot. Picketers joining them included creator Matt Groening and former writers David X. Cohen, Conan O'Brien, and Greg Daniels. Once a contract agreement was reached, production resumed in October 2023. As a result of the strike, only eighteen episodes aired this season instead of the normal twenty-two episodes.

Promotion
To promote the thirty-fifth season, Fox released an extended trailer on September 11, 2023.

Release
Due to the longer production lead time of animated shows, episodes produced before the strike were available to air as scheduled in October 2023 in the Sunday 8 PM timeslot. Leading out of NFL on Fox coverage, the season premiered on October 1, 2023 with an episode airing simultaneously in all time zones at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. Several episodes this season also premiered simultaneously in the 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT timeslot on Sundays leading out of NFL on Fox coverage and special episodes of the television series Krapopolis.

Viewing figures
For the 2023-2024 television season, the season earned a 0.58 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which was the 35th best performing show. It averaged 1.99 million viewers, which was the 106th best performing show.

Critical response
John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the season an 8 out of 10. He thought the earlier episodes of the season were of poor quality but thought the later episodes were better. He highlighted the Mario Kart parody in "Lisa Gets an F1" and the mention of strikes in "Night of the Living Wage".

Awards and nominations
At the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the episode "Night of the Living Wage" was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program. Hank Azaria was nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for his performance as Moe Szyslak in "Cremains of the Day".

At the 76th Writers Guild of America Awards, writers Carolyn Omine and Rob LaZebnik were nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for episodes written this season.

Writer Cesar Mazariegos was nominated for a Humanitas Prize in Comedy Teleplay for his script for "Night of the Living Wage".