Cancelling the Simpsons in the midst of a production period strikes me as unlikely. That is if Fox orders however many seasons they did historically-they aren't going to turn around and cut the order short barring something drastic. Much easier to not renew than to break the contract and pay whatever the penalty is.
That limits the opportunities for the Simpsons to end. But if I remember correctly the salary dispute was related to one such renewal period-so that could kill the show after season 9.
In a scenario where the salary dispute kills the show I'd expect heads to roll at Fox. The Simpsons was a cash cow and the loss of a still popular series on a channel that had precious few of those would cause some sort of internal upheaval at the network.
Not sure how that turns out. Given the show's role at Fox hard to see the Simpsons ending and nothing happening to the network as a consequence.
There's also the question of whether Groening is so offended by what Fox the network does that he isn't willing to work with Fox anymore. That would mean no Futurama.
If you want a ratings decline as opposed to a subjective quality decline that at best can be seen more in retrospect than at the time one option is to keep the Sinpsons on in prime time. In that scenario the Simpsons would have faced off against Friends. Which could have hurt the Simpsons ratings.
Then again the Simpsons survived a competition with the Cosby show so maybe even that wouldn't have worked.
If Futurama is made at all there's a small possibility that the loss of the Simpsons will frighten the network into at least not directly sabatoging the show. Futurama could end up with the Sunday time slot.
Then again the show's status as "not the Simpsons" could hurt ratings to the point the show ends earlier. How long the show lasts probably depends on what the network looks like at the time. Fox was already a volatile network at the time internally. Losing the Simpsons might make that worse. But on the other hand there might be network pressure to make amends with Groening and his team in a backlash against whatever group of people killed the cash cow in the salary dispute scenario. In a lower ratings scenario Futurama might be in serious trouble-what might save it is a lack of better options for the timeslot.
The Simpsons would continue to hold a place in popular culture for some time. At 9 seasons there's more than enough material for syndication purposes. The creative team probably makes a movie within a few years of non-renewal. Not sure what said movie would look like.
That limits the opportunities for the Simpsons to end. But if I remember correctly the salary dispute was related to one such renewal period-so that could kill the show after season 9.
In a scenario where the salary dispute kills the show I'd expect heads to roll at Fox. The Simpsons was a cash cow and the loss of a still popular series on a channel that had precious few of those would cause some sort of internal upheaval at the network.
Not sure how that turns out. Given the show's role at Fox hard to see the Simpsons ending and nothing happening to the network as a consequence.
There's also the question of whether Groening is so offended by what Fox the network does that he isn't willing to work with Fox anymore. That would mean no Futurama.
If you want a ratings decline as opposed to a subjective quality decline that at best can be seen more in retrospect than at the time one option is to keep the Sinpsons on in prime time. In that scenario the Simpsons would have faced off against Friends. Which could have hurt the Simpsons ratings.
Then again the Simpsons survived a competition with the Cosby show so maybe even that wouldn't have worked.
If Futurama is made at all there's a small possibility that the loss of the Simpsons will frighten the network into at least not directly sabatoging the show. Futurama could end up with the Sunday time slot.
Then again the show's status as "not the Simpsons" could hurt ratings to the point the show ends earlier. How long the show lasts probably depends on what the network looks like at the time. Fox was already a volatile network at the time internally. Losing the Simpsons might make that worse. But on the other hand there might be network pressure to make amends with Groening and his team in a backlash against whatever group of people killed the cash cow in the salary dispute scenario. In a lower ratings scenario Futurama might be in serious trouble-what might save it is a lack of better options for the timeslot.
The Simpsons would continue to hold a place in popular culture for some time. At 9 seasons there's more than enough material for syndication purposes. The creative team probably makes a movie within a few years of non-renewal. Not sure what said movie would look like.