The Simpsons writer shares whether Itchy & Scratchy will disappear after season 36 finale

For over three decades, The Simpsons has singularly defined animated television. It offers a mix of surreal humor along with heartfelt satire. Out of all the components in the show, none are similar to The Itchy & Scratchy Show, which is arguably the single most recognizable component of the show.

The Itchy & Scratchy show features extreme slapstick violence through a sadistic mouse and an endlessly suffering feline, who take turns doing horrible things to each other. For Bart and Lisa Simpson, the segments scratched their itch for bonding, mischief, and laughter.

In an unexpected turn during the season 36 finale, named “Estranger Things,” the brothers and sisters come to the realization that they have both outgrown the cartoon. This shift in reality begs the question from the audience: Is this the demise of Itchy and Scratchy?

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Bart and Lisa from The Simpsons outgrow their favorite show

In Estranger Things, Bart and Lisa’s mutual passion for Itchy and Scratchy starts to decline, further increasing the gap between them. The plot sheds light on how children mature and evolve—and how change can happen even to something deeply cherished.

For Bart and Lisa's longtime fans, witnessing their idols turn their backs on a cartoon that used to bring them so much joy was bittersweet and worrisome — is Itchy and Scratchy truly gone from the show’s universe?

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No timeline is set in stone

After the finale, Tim Long had to explain to worried fans that Bart and Lisa indeed skipped town, but the show is not bound by strict continuity.

“There are no hard rules,” he said. “It's more fun if they can throw a wrench in things and say ‘Maybe this all happened after all the other episodes where they watch Itchy & Scratchy.’”

In Long's words, the show’s timeline offers “deliberate flexibility”, which means the pesky rodents can appear in future episodes without straining continuity.

And yes, fans can breathe easy — when asked if we’ll see Itchy and Scratchy again, Long replied: “Of course. We’d never lose that."

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A cartoon built on flexibility

The Simpsons has had a long and comic run where it always morphs reality to fit the narrative it is trying to tell, which is, more often than not, outrageous in nature. Long has said that while writers, for the most part, care about internal logic, calibration is always required, and the balance remains that the show is a comedy first.

“The show isn’t an ironclad piece of linear logic,” he contended. “It’s a playful cartoon that we try to make people laugh with.”

Long assured fans who are apprehensive that the show might disregard some of its past that they really care about, undermining their own efforts.

“We really do care,” Long said. “We know this world means something to people. But it also has to stay fresh and funny.”

Concepts like Roy from the 1997 Poochie episode, a caricature who humorously seemed to have always been there, show how The Simpsons tend to get creative with and break some of the norms that make writers do homework. Long drove home that point.

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Conclusion

Though Season 36 starts a new journey for Bart and Lisa, it does not mark the end for The Itchy & Scratchy Show. It serves as a reminder of how The Simpsons keeps adapting Peter The Itchy & Scratchy Show while keeping the essence of its past. Certainly, the writers know how to navigate the sentimental impact of their choices, but they are also aware of the importance of having fun and making things unpredictable.

No matter if the children are aging and moving to the next stage of their lives, fans can feel relieved knowing that, in the virtually ageless and spinning world of Springfield, Itchy and Scratchy will always be waiting just a flip of the channel away.