KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In celebration of its 25th Anniversary, FOX is giving viewers a chance to look back at two of the shows that defined the network and created two of television’s most iconic characters: “Al Bundy” and “Homer Simpson.”
On Sunday, April 22, from 6:00-6:30 pm, FOX will air the premiere episode of “MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN”, leading into the previously announced encore of the 500th episode of THE SIMPSONS at 6:30pm!
(NOTE: THE SIMPSONS encore previously announced for 6:00 pm this night will be rescheduled at a later date.)
MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN premiered April 5, 1987 on FOX, with three half-hour broadcasts of the show’s “Pilot” episode. In the pilot, Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) gets front row seats to a basketball game, but Peggy (Katey Sagal) makes him stay home and meet their new neighbors, Marcy (Amanda Bearse) and Steve Rhoades (David Garrison).
THE SIMPSONS officially launched as a full-fledged series on January 14, 1990, but Springfield’s most famous family had appeared on FOX for several years in a number of animated “shorts” as part of “The Tracey Ullman Show.”
To celebrate THE SIMPSONS’ continuing impact on popular culture, FOX will encore the series’ 500th episode, “At Long Last Leave,” in which the Simpsons are evicted from Springfield and join an off-the-grid community outside of town.
Then at 7:00pm, FOX’s 25TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL will take an entertaining look back at the groundbreaking and irreverent shows that have come to define the network. The star-studded special will pay tribute to FOX’s most memorable moments with appearances by FOX talent, highlights from iconic series and specials and reunions with cast members from some of the network’s fan-favorite series, including “Married With Children,” “In Living Color” and “That ’70s Show,” among other surprises