The Simpsons' 10 Most Desperate Attempts To Boost Ratings

Competing with more adult-oriented, meta, and political animated shows such as Family Guy and South Park, The Simpsons needed a new USP. Being a household name, they were able to attempt to capitalise on their acceptance in the mainstream by introducing guest animators to create unique opening sequences.

Beginning in the third episode of Season 22, Banksy was the first guest artist to make a couch gag, creating an exploitive and corrupt Springfield. Banksy was an established, yet enigmatic name in the art realm and his presence could have been used to prove the series was still ‘with it.’

Since then, the likes of Ren and Stimpy creator, John Kricfalusi, Graphic Novelist, Michel Socha, and filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro have all had guest credits for the beloved couch gags.

While some of these have been absolute marvels, and do succeed in making this aspect of The Simpsons different, it is worth noting that the audience isn’t watching The Simpsons just for the opening sequence. This is an important part, but with the majority of them spanning approximately two minutes in length, it still leaves twenty minutes of content to endure.

Would people stick around just because there has been something different for this week’s opening? Looking at the steady decline of viewers since this idea's inception in 2010, The Simpsons’ average rating has been fledgling around the 4 million mark for quite some time. While 4 million weekly viewers is still a massive achievement, it is a far cry from the series’ peak of 25+ million in their formative years.