Are the ‘Simpsons’ over staying their welcome?

After being on the air for 23 years, "The Simpsons" was in danger of being canceled. What was the cause? Well, money of course.

The six actors who provide the voices for the main characters on the show—Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer—had been asked to take a 45 percent pay cut, and if the actors did not agree, FOX would have halted production on the show's 23rd season.

This cut meant these actors were only going to make a depressing 4 million dollars a year. The actors negotiated with FOX and had proposed a settlement that got them a 30 percent reduction in salary, a small portion of the show's back-end earnings, which include the billion dollar syndication and merchandising empire that the studio has built over the past two plus decades.

This counter offer seems like a reasonable request. Why aren't the people, who are majorly responsible for the show being so iconic, getting a share of the syndication profits?  Not to mention "The Simpsons" is a franchise that makes billions of dollars a year.  So, why is it necessary to have a pay cut in the first place?

It turns out that FOX has been losing money on "The Simpsons" for the past couple of seasons. They also issued the following statement: "We believe this brilliant series can and should continue, but we cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the voice cast that allows The Simpsons to go on entertaining audiences with original episodes for many years to come."

I find this whole situation a little ridiculous. First, the show has been on for 23 years, it is losing viewers and it doesn't seem to have the impact it did back in the 90s. Second, call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure you can make a living by earning 4 million a year, but at the same time, there is more than enough money in the franchise, so I don't know why a pay cut is necessary.

I'm glad that they've reached an agreement. If the show got canceled eventually, it would be sad, but at the same time maybe it's time for us to let them go. There are still other funny adult cartoons out there. There is always "Family Guy," "American Dad," "South Park" and "Futurama."