The Simpsons

The depiction of the long-running character has become a source of controversy in recent years.

Just when Simpsons voice Hank Azaria seemed to turn a corner on the Apu controversy, creator Matt Groening drags us right back. The longtime producer accuses viewers of “pretending” the character is more offensive than they actually believe.

It’s been months since comedian Hari Kondabolu laid out The Problem With Apu, and The Simpsons at last responds. A short aside from Sunday’s latest sees Lisa brushing off the stereotype controversy as “something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive,” and unlikely to be changed.

As often as The Simpsons predicts reality, America’s favorite family can sometimes make their own. Such is the case with a perfectly cromulent new addition to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, dating all the way back to a 1996 Simpsons episode.

Thousands of years from now, alien archaeologists will come to one inescapable conclusion: The Simpsons dictated humanity’s every advance. The latest evidence is none other than today’s giant Disney-Fox merger, which America’s favorite family jokingly predicted in 1998.

Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has long-influenced stereotypes about people from India, so much so that comedian Hari Kondabolu made a full documentary about The Problem With Apu. Now, character voice Hank Azaria admits the controversy is “a lot to think about,” as well that producers have considered potential measures in response.

The Simpsons production time leaves the FOX staple notoriously behind current events, but its take on the Trump administration remains as uncomfortably accurate as ever. See for yourself, as even more familiar figures hang around for the latest Trump parody.

The FOX comedy first predicted Trump's rise to the presidency in a 2000 episode.

Official polls be damned -- it turns out we should all pay closer attention to 'The Simpsons.'

Even after Season 28, no one expected The Simpsons to disband anytime soon, especially with some of TV’s biggest records on the horizon. Now, America’s first animated family will officially cross the threshold with a two-season renewal, outpacing one of TV’s biggest milestones in the process.