‘The Simpsons’ just hit a wild milestone: 800 episodes. And given the show’s track record, one would think that after all this time, they’d have had every big celebrity on the show at least once. But turns out, the reality is not quite so.In fact, Matt Selman, the showrunner and longtime writer, says that there’s still one star they keep chasing. He even called that star out during the 800th episode party in Hollywood back in February 2026. “Come on… We keep writing great stuff for you,” Selman joked, hoping the 58-year-old comedy legend might finally cave.So, who is the celebrity star who’s still not on board to be featured in ‘The Simpsons’?
The star that gets away
The show’s writer, Matt Selman, talked with PEOPLE about this, but he also got into the show’s weird knack for “predicting” the future. He says the writers don’t really set out to make predictions. “The more you try to predict or not predict, it screws up the predictions. So you just got to go in pure and just let them happen or not.” People want to believe in magic, he says. “And is magic real? Well, it’s real in people’s minds. So maybe it is real. But I don’t think it’s really real. But whatever, coincidences are real. If there were no coincidences, that would be the really unlikely thing.”Selman also shared some details about the 800th episode, which is slated for Sunday, February 15. “Luckily, I have the best writers in the world who think of things for me, and I can just take the credit,” he laughed. This time, they went for one of their classic travel episodes, sending the Simpsons to Philadelphia. But there’s more: it’s about the emotional ups and downs of owning a pet, and it also sends up big adventure movies like National Treasure. Selman seemed especially proud of Marge’s speech at the end, where she talks about the journey and the emotional toll of being a pet owner. “I think it’s as good as anything the show has ever done,” Selman said.
‘The Simpsons’: What is it?
Since Matt Groening launched it way back in the late ‘80s, it’s gone from a Tracey Ullman Show short to a pop-culture juggernaut. The show follows the Simpson family, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie—in the fictional town of Springfield, poking fun at everything from politics to pop stars with a mix of sharp jokes and surprisingly real moments.Over the years, ‘The Simpsons’ become a TV institution, getting both praise and pushback, but always managing to leave a mark.
