This past Thursday FXX, the newest branch of FX, began its #EverySimpsonsEver marathon. As the title implies, FXX is airing every single one of “The Simpsons” 25 seasons’ 552 episodes in chronological order, 24 hours a day, for twelve days straight. This will mark the longest running TV marathon on American television, and will wrap up Sept. 1 at 11:30 p.m. 

The attempt to marry binge watching and communal watching is an obvious ploy to stir up some excitement and win over viewers to FXX, which has been overlooked for the past year since its launch. But this is only the beginning of FXX’s marriage to “The Simpsons.” FXX acquired the exclusive cable syndication rights in November of last year and following the conclusion of the marathon, FXX will air four hour blocks of “The Simpsons” reruns on Sunday nights. 

The first day of #EverySimpsonsEver pulled in the highest number of viewers FXX has seen, but the chances that this trend will continue is highly unlikely due to the commercial interruptions, FXX’s scheduling and a decline in the show’s quality.

As opposed to the flexibility of Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO or On Demand streaming where viewers can watch on their own schedule, this marathon will be subject to the schedule of FXX. Viewers cannot watch at their leisure, go about their day and pick up where they left off, because the marathon will continue to air without them. And perhaps the biggest deterrent from this scheduled form of binge watching will be the commercial breaks.

The communal aspect of TV viewing that FXX is trying to tap into with their #EverySimpsonsEver hashtag and the @EverySimpsons twitter handle won’t have the same effect as regularly scheduled programs or awards shows that can flood twitter with crowd reactions. There is no suspense surrounding these reruns. The audience knows what’s going to happen and won’t have many witty observations to share online. Also given that only 60 percent of cable providers carry FXX the chance that one’s social circle is also watching “The Simpsons” on at any given time is very slim.

The people responsible for FXX’s initial success are “The Simpsons” diehards and “The Simpsons” critics. Fanatics are tuning in to catch the full-length versions of the show — which are different from the syndicated versions that omit memorable scenes in order to make more room for commercial interruptions. And “The Simpsons” critics out there see this marathon as an opportunity to see the show’s transition from the height of American sitcoms to a cartoon that we can’t seem to escape.

“The Simpsons” has gotten criticism over the past several years that the show has lost its biting humor and quality has decreased overall. “The Simpsons’” golden age was during the mid-90s, and it was largely considered to be one of the best comedic shows on air: incredibly witty and full of lovable characters. Now Springfield is so outlandish and unrelatable that it doesn’t have the same effect and as a result, the viewing audience is drastically smaller than it used to be. The show is not the cornerstone of American television anymore and its Sunday night airtime has a lot of competition. 

No matter where you come down on the fence of “The Simpsons’” quality, the show has lasted 25 seasons making it the longest running scripted prime time entertainment in American history. And while FXX made a valiant attempt to appeal to the masses, their huge viewing numbers will likely taper off later in the week and everyone goes back to the convenience of Netflix.

Erin G. Kelly is a senior broadcast and digital journalism major. Her column awppears weekly. She can be reached at egkelly@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @egknew.

Published on August 25, 2014 at 1:01 am