The Simpsons Showrunner Says The Critic Revival Has Been Discussed—But One Big Obstacle Stands in the Way
After 20 years at the helm, The Simpsons showrunner is stepping down — a rare shake-up for one of TV’s most enduring institutions.
Well, this is a big shift: after more than two decades steering The Simpsons, Al Jean is stepping away from the showrunner chair. He is not ghosting the series entirely, but he is clearly clearing room for other things — including a possible return of The Critic.
What Jean actually said
In a chat with Cracked, Jean said he is leaving for a bunch of sensible reasons and because he has other projects brewing that are not Simpsons-related — one of them with Jon Lovitz. When pressed on whether that Lovitz thing is a Critic revival, he did not play coy:
'It is definitely been discussed.'
He added that there is just one obstacle between talk and reality:
'I will just say there is really only one hurdle. John is up for it. Maurice LaMarche is up for it. Mike Reiss is too. I cannot really say what the one hurdle is, but there is one thing standing in the way.'
Jean says he hopes that hurdle gets cleared and claims he has pushed as hard as he can from his side to make it happen.
A quick refresher on The Critic
- The show ran from 1994 to 1995 for two seasons before getting canceled.
- It starred Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman, a New York film critic who lived for roasting bad movies.
- It got a small afterlife in 2000–2001 with short online webisodes.
- Jay Sherman popped up on The Simpsons multiple times.
- Mike Reiss co-created The Critic with Al Jean, and Maurice LaMarche voiced multiple characters.
What this means for The Simpsons right now
Jean flagged the transition on Twitter back in October, noting that the following week would be the last Simpsons episode he would showrun — at least for now. He also teased the 11/2 episode by shouting out a 'brilliant new director' and a 'writer I am never satisfied with' (classic self-deprecation). He is not bailing entirely; he is sticking around as a consulting producer.
Meanwhile, the franchise is not slowing down. A second Simpsons movie was announced in September, and season 37 is currently on the air.
So, is The Critic actually coming back?
Short answer: maybe. The core team — Lovitz, LaMarche, and co-creator Mike Reiss — are in. Jean is in. There is just one unnamed sticking point he will not identify. If that gets sorted, this is one of those revivals that could move fast because the pieces are already in place.