The Simpsons may be coming to an end after three decades on screen, according to the show’s composer Danny Elfman.
Elfman, who created the hit US cartoon’s theme tune, told news site Joe that “from what I’ve heard, it is coming to an end”.
But he added: “I don’t know for a fact, but I’ve heard that it will be in its last year.”
Elfman continued: “All I can say is that I’m so flabbergasted and amazed that it has lasted as long as it did.
“You have to realise, when I scored The Simpsons, I wrote this crazy piece of music, and I expected no-one would hear it, because I really did not think the show had a chance in hell.”
He said that its enduring success was “one of the truly big surprises in my life”.
There has been speculation in recent years that the programme, which is in its 31st series, is due to finish.
But US network Fox has already confirmed there will be a 32nd season.
The tale of Springfield and the Simpson family, starring Dan Castellaneta as father Homer and Julie Kavner as mother Marge, is the longest-running scripted series in America.
The award-winning comedy about the family’s dysfunctional life, created by Matt Groening in 1989, has spawned merchandise, a big-screen movie, video games and a Universal Studios Ride.