The Simpsons: 15 Most Watched Episodes Of All Time

By Simon Gallagher / October 14, 2021

12. Moaning Lisa - 27.4m

Season 1 Episode 6

The birth of a musical legend, Moaning Lisa was the first time viewers got to meet jazz legend Bleeding Gums Murphy (voiced by Ron Taylor), who helped re-affirm Lisa's place in the universe.

Typically, Lisa's episodes now tend to be the weakest (for some reason she's a little more one-note than the rest of her family), but this was an early success - thanks in big part to the immediate iconicness of Murphy - for a character who is relatively overlooked. And it went some way to dealing with the issue of mental illness in an accessible way, even if it was a little over-sweetened for fans brought up on later, more cynically humorous episodes.

But a little bit of sugar never hurt anyone.