'The Simpsons' signs up for 24th, 25th season

"The Simpsons" began as animated segment on Fox's "The Tracey Ullman Show" back the 1980s.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Fox and "The Simpsons" crew had been in negotiations, threatening future shows


• On Friday, Fox announces that the animated series will continue for 2 more seasons


• "The Simpsons" has won 27 Emmys and was named Time's best show of the century

(Entertainment News) -- Homer won't have to leave home after all, as "The Simpsons" and Fox agreed Friday to extend the animated series' run into a 24th and 25th season, the network said in a press release.

While details of the deal weren't announced, it is widely expected that the show's producers and voice-actors will go home with less dough than they had in their previous contract. Yet it's likely that there will be plenty for doughnuts and Duff beer for Homer, Marge, Bart and company as they prowl the bars, nuclear reactors and other happening locales around Springfield.

Twentieth Century Fox Television acknowledged to Entertainment News earlier this week that they were working toward an agreement, while saying future shows couldn't be made "under its current financial model." There was no mention of those talks Friday, beyond news of the agreement.

The two-season renewal means that "The Simpsons," already the longest-running scripted show in the history of television, is scheduled to air 559 episodes. That includes its 500th next February.

The show began as an segment on Fox's "The Tracey Ullman Show," as the creation of Matt Groening, who still helps helm the program. Two years later, in 1989, it earned its own spot in the network's lineup.

"The Simpsons" has enticed dozens of guest stars over the past 22 years, from regulars like Kelsey Grammer as "Sideshow Bob" to shorter stints from the likes of Sting, Michael Jackson, Tom Hanks, Jay Leno, Kid Rock and many others. It also earned 27 Emmy awards, has earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was named by Time magazine as the "best show of the 20th century."

Along the way, the quirky, ageless family has also infiltrated, as much as it reflected, American culture.

The show's next new episode -- the "Treehouse of Horrors XXII," the latest in its annual Halloween-themed installments -- will air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, October 30, according to Fox.