Published Sep 27, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT
After 18 months at Screen Rant, Guy became Classic TV Editor in September 2026, and specializes in leading features content about shows from decades gone by. Having written for and editing several TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include comedy, crime, historical drama, Westerns, and political thrillers.
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As individual TV seasons go, The Simpsons has arguably done more than any other comedy series in modern history to perfect a blueprint for others to follow. One season of the animated sitcom, in particular, still defines the way other shows go about structuring their output of episodes each year.
The season in question contains several of The Simpsons episodes universally considered masterpieces by critics and fans alike. However, it’s also more than simply the sum of its admittedly ingenious parts. This season moved every facet of the show forward, from characterization to overall tone, as well as stylistic comedic innovations.
In addition, it built a structural framework that’s been more or less in place on The Simpsons ever since. At the same time, this influence has gone on to influence some of the best American sitcoms to have succeeded the show’s golden age, often because some of its key writers went on to create these successors.
Over three decades later, The Simpsons season 4 is still the pinnacle of the show’s artistic legacy. Indeed, the all-time great seasons of the show which came after it are constructed in the same fundamental way, because season 4 provided the perfect model to follow.
The Simpsons Season 4 Is The Perfect Collection Of Episodes
When it comes to the best Simpsons episodes of all time, season 4 has more genuine contenders than any other. The season packs numerous undisputed classics into a run of 22 episodes that’s the stuff of TV dreams.
It’s during this season that the show manages to strike the ideal balance between Homer’s flaws and the good intentions that redeem him as a character. In fact, season 4 is the one that cements Homer as the best Simpsons character overall, regardless of his descent into puerile stupidity during the animated sitcom’s decline several years later.
Meanwhile, Bart is as lovably mischievous as ever, but both Lisa and Marge have more to offer the show than they did throughout the entirety of the first three seasons. Lisa becomes more passionate and outspoken in aid of social causes than ever before, and Marge reveals very different sides to her character in “Marge Gets a Job” and “Marge in Chains”.
The Simpson matriarch gets to be the hero, too, in “Marge vs. the Monorail”, a perennial fan-favorite written by Conan O’Brien. Even Maggie gets to have the final word in one episode – literally. In addition, various side characters get their own moments in the spotlight with a level of depth we don’t see in previous seasons.
We discover that Selma is pining for motherhood, for example, in a storyline which threatens to drive her and twin-sister Patty apart. Krusty the Clown goes through a professional crisis that makes him doubt his career, and Ralph Wiggum breaks our hearts in the legendary Valentine’s Day episode "I Love Lisa".
Then there are the cases in which The Simpsons simply proves itself to be operating on a different plane from other TV comedies, in terms of both humor and storytelling. There’s the timeless warmth of “Homer the Heretic” and “Duffless”, the modern-day parables of "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" and “Mr. Plow”, and the pop-culture masterclass of "Last Exit to Springfield".
What makes The Simpsons season 4 especially interesting in historical terms is the model it created for modern sitcoms to work from. For the first time since the show began, its showrunners consciously set out to create a framework around which the season would be structured.
Al Jean and Mike Reiss had already overseen the making of The Simpsons season 3, which pioneered the use of A/B plot structures, and introduced higher-tempo comic beats into the show. However, season 4 is the season which standardized dual episodes plots, while refining the sitcom’s approach to comedy through the most collaborative writing room television has ever seen.
On the other hand, the season saw The Simpsons dig deeper when it came to the characters at the center of its storylines. This development happened in part because episodes often needed a central figure to bring their A and B plots together during the final act of the story.
|
"Kamp Krusty" |
Bart & Lisa |
|
"A Streetcar Named Marge" |
Marge |
|
"Homer the Heretic" |
Homer |
|
"Lisa the Beauty Queen" |
Lisa |
|
"Treehouse of Horror III" |
N/A |
|
"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" |
Bart |
|
"Marge Gets a Job" |
Marge |
|
"New Kid on the Block" |
Bart |
|
"Mr. Plow" |
Homer |
|
"Lisa's First Word" |
N/A |
|
"Homer's Triple Bypass" |
Homer |
|
"Marge vs. the Monorail" |
Marge |
|
"Selma's Choice" |
Selma |
|
"Brother from the Same Planet" |
Bart |
|
"I Love Lisa" |
Lisa |
|
"Duffless" |
Homer |
|
"Last Exit to Springfield" |
Homer |
|
"So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" |
N/A |
|
"The Front" |
Bart & Lisa |
|
"Whacking Day" |
Bart & Lisa |
|
"Marge in Chains" |
Marge |
|
"Krusty Gets Kancelled" |
Krusty |
As a result, a balance between members of the Simpson family was established which served the show perfectly through the rest of its golden age, while secondary characters were given fresh dimensions. Across season 4, there are five episodes where Homer takes the lead, four where it’s Marge, three for Bart, two for Lisa, two more for Bart and Lisa together, two led by supporting characters, a Halloween episode, a flashback, and a clip show.
This balance of storylines across an ensemble of three-dimensional characters, punctuated occasionally by special or bottle episodes, is precisely the formula that most modern sitcoms have used ever since this legendary Simpsons season. Indeed, some of the best TV seasons of the 2020s, from Abbott Elementary season 2 to Reservation Dogs season 3, are built around the same model.
With the possible exception of Seinfeld, The Simpsons is surely the ’90s sitcom that’s shaped contemporary television more than any other. Season 4 is the prime example of just how important the show’s chief innovations have been to TV comedy.
Release Date December 17, 1989
Network FOX
Showrunner Al Jean
Directors Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Rob Oliver, Michael Polcino, Mike B. Anderson, Chris Clements, Wes Archer, Timothy Bailey, Lance Kramer, Nancy Kruse, Matthew Faughnan, Chuck Sheetz, Rich Moore, Jeffrey Lynch, Pete Michels, Susie Dietter, Raymond S. Persi, Carlos Baeza, Dominic Polcino, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Marcantel, Neil Affleck, Swinton O. Scott III, Jennifer Moeller
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Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)
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Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)
English (US) ·