# The Simpsons

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/simpsons/

11 people recommended The Simpsons in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 14 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 12 months, in 10 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. People praise its relatable, still-relevant writing and the crisp remastered episodes. Critics say quality dropped sharply after around season nine or ten.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## What people warn about

- Quality declined after early seasons (10 comments in the sample): "the drop-off around season nine or ten was precipitious and it's only gotten worse since then" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47054980)) "it falls off very quickly after that, that it's still on the air today is elder abuse" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49870355)) "The Simpsons to me became terrible around the same time Family Guy came out" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47054485))
- Cropped and overly clean picture (2 comments in the sample): "cropped into 16:9 for Disney and obscuring the joke that all the Duff brews come from one pipe" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46133816)) "it looks too clean and waxy for my tastes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48365849))
- Original writers and creators left (1 comment in the sample): "A lot of that authenticity fell to the wayside when the original Simpsons writers left the show" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47055236))

## Why people recommend it

- Remastered episodes look crisp and clean (2 comments in the sample): "They've just remastered enough to make them more crisp and less pixelated" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46137974)) "probably the best presentation you can get out of it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48362667))
- Still relevant and highly rated (2 comments in the sample): "This is a decade old, and its still on point" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47071190)) "Still one of the top rated shows." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47054554))
- Every frame treated as art (2 comments in the sample): "every frame of The Simpsons is art" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48519561)) "The Simpsons is art at its best" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48975054))
- Relatable, well-written characters (2 comments in the sample): "Frank Grimes is one of the best characters on TV" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47055197)) "because of how relatable it is" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46724388))

## Other animated series people recommend

- [Star Trek: Lower Decks](https://hackerapproved.com/p/star-trek-lower-decks/): 20 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize
- [South Park](https://hackerapproved.com/p/south-park/): 14 recommend, 5 mixed, 7 criticize
- [Arcane](https://hackerapproved.com/p/arcane/): 10 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize
- [Neural Viz](https://hackerapproved.com/p/neural-viz/): 9 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Simpsons", https://hackerapproved.com/p/simpsons/ (11 recommend, 2 mixed, 14 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.