It’s also run longer than any other fictitious show in television history, other than possibly Dr. Who. Dr. Who certainly beats The Simpsons in real time span, but for total seasons, Dr. Who only has 26, while The Simpsons seems to reign supreme at 35 seasons.
I can only think of a few other shows that outlast The Simpsons, and every single one is a talk show, late night talk show, sketch comedy show, or a game show. None of these fall into the category of fiction, and all but one of these categories are entirely period based topical shows, and it could be argued that the fourth is also a period based topical show.