‘The Simpsons’ renewed for 26th season ahead of Sunday’s ‘Treehouse of Horror’ episode

The 25th season of The Simpsons just kicked off — its traditional “Treehouse of Horror” episode slated for this Sunday — and that won’t be the last of the gang from Springfield. According to Variety, Fox renewed the longest-running American sitcom ever for its 26th season. It’s not a surprising renewal — despite the fact that the show’s quality has arguably been on the downswing for years now, the show still pulls in consistently strong ratings in the key 18-49 demographic. Earlier in the year, there were rumors that The Simpsons would wrap after its 25th season in advance of a major $1 billion cable syndication deal — but the show appears like it’ll keep on going until at least 2015. Whether or not that affects any potential syndication deal remains to be seen.