The creator of the long-running animated series admits that the place where Homer and his family reside was inspired by TV show 'Father Knows Best', which was set in Springfield, Oregon.
- April 11, 2012
AceShowbiz -
After more than twenty years, Matt Groening has finally revealed in which state of the nation "The Simpsons" are living. In an interview with Smithsonian magazine, the show's creator said that Springfield, the town where Homer and his family reside, is located in Oregon.
"Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon," Groening admitted. He went opening up about the inspiration behind the location as elaborating, "The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show 'Father Knows Best' took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name."
"I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S.," the "Futurama" creator went on sharing. "In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do."
On why he never mentioned that Springfield is located in Oregon before, Groening explained, "I don't want to ruin it for people, you know? Whenever people say it's Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, 'Yup, that's right.' "
The animated series had previously made a joke of its location in the United States. In an episode, Lisa points to Springfield on a map, but the animated "camera view" is blocked by Bart's head.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the show will make a reference to this revelation in the next episode. Meanwhile, Homer Simpson has taken to Twitter to address the location of his home. "That's right, the Simpsons live in Oregon -- California's toupee," he wrote in one tweet, and posted another which read, "Congratulations, Oregon. Your taxes will pay for my jail time."
