Showrunner for The Simpsons reveals exactly how the show will end

A showrunner behind one of America's most famous and adored TV families for the past three decades has revealed how it will end.

Matt Groening's Springfield and our favorite family, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, first hit our television screens in 1987 as a cartoon short before the satirical comedy started airing regularly from January 1990.

That makes The Simpsons the longest-running animated TV series in the US, having covered 36 seasons so far in its 36 years.

Matt Selman has spoken out on how The Simpsons will end (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

The show even has an uncanny ability to predict the future as fans have accumulated several gags from the show over the decades, which have later happened in real life, like Donald Trump's presidency to the 9/11 attacks - and an appearance of the 'Hawk Tuah girl', Haliey Welch.

It's hard to image the show ever coming to an end but fans were left reeling when the first episode of the 36th season seemed to announce it would be the series finale.

However, it was just another infamous gag by the writers as it was later revealed the storyline of the episode was generated by artificial intelligence.

The episode, titled 'Bart's Birthday', explores extreme AI-generated scenarios that would suit a jaw-dropping goodbye, like Mr Burns' death, Moe's bar shutting down and Principal Skinner retiring.

It, thankfully, wasn't the real ending but showrunner, Matt Selman, told The Post: "The discussion that it would be so hard to do a last episode is what led to the fake series finale. That it’s sort of an impossible thing.

"The show isn’t meant to end,” he continued, "To do a sappy crappo series finale, like most other shows do, would be so lame. So we just did one that was like over the top.”

The executive producer, who joined the writing team in 1997, has now revealed how he would like The Simpsons to end, if the day ever does come.

The first episode of the 36th season freaked fans (FOX/20th Television)

Selman said he would want it to be just a 'regular episode' that's just a 'really good story about the family'.

He added: "The characters in this crazy show don’t age.

"I think later we’ll just pick an episode and say that was the last one. No self-aware stuff. Or, one self-aware joke.”

Speaking to The Post for the show's Christmas special, 'O C'mon All Ye Faithful', which is now streaming on Disney+, Selman said fans have their own ideas for a season finale that are based on the how other shows tend to end. But he ruled out ever bidding the show goodbye in a similar fashion, saying 'we covered that area' in the fake series finale episode.

Instead, he joked that last episode will be a 'parody of A Christmas Carol with [Mr Burns] as Scrooge. The laziest idea!'

The comments come as Matt Groening told USA Today that 'there's no end in sight' for the show in 2021.

The Simpsons creator added: "Anytime I speculate on the show ending, the people who work on it and diehard fans get very upset."

Season 37 of The Simpsons has yet to be announced.