This really does piss me off. I get that not everyone enjoys the show like they used to. I get that others just plain dislike everything after about Season 8 (Season 4, for some.) I get that the show is not the mega-pop-culture phenomenon it once was. And I get that many other shows have cropped up over the past 20 years that mostly fill any gap this cancellation would leave behind.
But we're talking about a series that arguably made Fox what it is today. There is no other series you can point to that can make a better argument for being "the flagship." Moreover, there have been few shows in the history of television that can boast the overall cultural impact that The Simpsons has had. How many other series can claim to have entered a new word into the English language that perhaps outlasts the show itself? What of the many, many shows that have come (and gone) since this show began that bear the distinct influence of The Simpsons? Hell, just consider the influence on animation, primetime or otherwise. Consider how rare it once was for a primetime comedy to so frequently, directly, and deftly tackle taboo social and political topics. Hell, consider how rare that is today. If you're Fox, you can even ignore nearly all of that and just consider how much fucking money this show has made for you for over two decades. But yeah, the profit margins are slimmer than they once were. That certainly cancels out everything that came before.
I'm not saying the show should never end. It must end, sooner or later, and we've always known that. However, The Simpsons has transcended being just a TV show and has become a cultural institution.
Give it a respectful ending, on its own terms, and respect the people who put in the work to make it happen.
Fuck you, Fox.