Nancy Cartwright, the actress who has voiced Bart Simpson since 1987, said she believes The Simpsons will end after its 40th season. Speaking on the Inside of You podcast, Cartwright explained that reaching 40 seasons would place the animated show's finale around 2029, following the recent conclusion of season 37.
When the host asked if she was sure, Cartwright confirmed that it was her prediction, emphasizing that it was only her opinion and not an official announcement. She added that if the series chooses to continue past season 40, she would be delighted to keep voicing Bart as long as the rest of the team wants to continue. Production representatives for The Simpsons declined to comment on her statements.
Show history and streaming performance
The Simpsons first appeared in 1987 as animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. Creator Matt Groening decided in 1989 to turn the shorts into a full television series centered on Homer Simpson, his family, and their neighbors in Springfield. The show has now aired more than 800 episodes and holds a renewal contract through at least season 40.
In Spain, viewers traditionally watched the show at 14:00 on Antena 3 before broadcast shifted to Neox. Today, more than one million people in Spain continue watching the series on Disney+. April 2026 data from SigmaDos30 showed that 1.292 million unique users watched the show on Disney+ in Spain, making it one of the platform's most viewed titles. The demand helped Disney+ consolidate its position as the third most used streaming service in Spain with a 32.3 percent market penetration, up 1.8 percentage points from March.
Proposed free tier for Disney+
Disney Chief Executive Officer Josh D'Amaro confirmed that Disney+ is studying plans to offer a free account option to attract new users and expand its service reach. The company's streaming catalog features franchises from Marvel, Star Wars, FOX, Disney, and Pixar.
D'Amaro noted that there is no set launch date or concrete proposal yet for how the free tier will function. Disney is considering adding free ad-supported streaming television channels inside Disney+, a model already used by Prime Video and recently adopted in Spain by Movistar Plus. Under this concept, non-paying users could view a limited selection of movies, series, premiere episodes, or rotating library titles supported by advertising.
TikTok partnership and video creation
Disney intends for free access to serve as an entry gateway that introduces viewers to its catalog before encouraging them to purchase full subscriptions. The company has also formed an alliance with TikTok that will allow users to create videos featuring characters from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and other franchises.
The TikTok video feature will launch initially as a pilot program in the United States. If the pilot proves successful, Disney plans to expand the initiative to additional international markets.
