The donut-loving Homer Simpson and his blue–collar dysfunctional family made Fox network a major player in the TV industry in 1989. Over the course of the next two decades, the show built a remarkable cascade of characters and attracted viewers all throughout American while reaching audiences abroad as well.
On this day, February 26th, in 2009, Simpson fans worldwide were celebrating as The Simpsons were saved for two more seasons! Initially, Fox threatened to end the series because it could no longer afford the 8 million dollar cost of annual salaries, and proposed a wage cut of 45 percent. At first, the voice actors were reluctant, but settled with a 30 percent decrease leaving them with a $300,000 salary per episode. The show returned on the air eight months after Fox’s approval for its 25th season and its 560th episode.
With its imprint in American pop culture, The Simpsons was given a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and honored with five U.S. postal stamps. Since its debut in 1989, it has won over 27 Emmy Awards, been broadcasted in 50 languages, and aired in over 100 countries. Amusingly, Homer’s catch phrase “D’ Oh” was officially made a word when added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001.