In its current 34th season, The Simpsons has introduced a bunch of new characters, like Jesse, a hunky parody of the Peloton instructors, and a fourth-wall-breaking hacker voiced by guest star Anna Faris. From Krusty the Clown and Ralph Wiggum to Ned Flanders and Moe Szyslak, many fan-favorite Simpsons characters have been around since the very first season.
But some of the show’s most beloved characters, like Fat Tony, Troy McClure, Mayor Quimby, Groundskeeper Willie, and Comic Book Guy, didn’t join the set until later seasons.
10/10 Mayor Quimby
Springfield’s longtime mayor – Joseph Fitzgerald O’Malley Fitzpatrick O’Donnell The Edge Quimby, also known by his nickname “Diamond Joe” – made his first screen appearance in the Season 2 premiere, ” Bart Gets an ‘F’. Quimby managed to stay in office for decades despite all his open corruption.
Quimby is a composite caricature of various members of the Kennedy family, including President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, and Dan Castellaneta nails the print.
9/10 Professor Frink
“Professor Frink, Professor Frink, he will make you laugh, he will make you think. Long before he was cut off midway through the debut of his self-penned theme song in the Season 7 anthology episode “22 Shorts About Springfield,” Professor Frink first appeared in ” Old Money” from Season 2.
Inspired by Jerry Lewis’ iconic turn as Julius Kelp, the original Professor Nutty, Frink is the resident Springfieldian mastermind who sets up all the sci-fi storylines in the series.
8/10 Gardener Willie
From Principal Skinner to Mrs. Krabappel, many of Springfield Elementary’s hilarious employees made their debuts in Season 1 of The Simpsons. But Groundskeeper Willie didn’t show up until Season 2’s “Principal Charming,” the episode in which Skinner falls for Aunt Patty.
Known for his short temper, Scottish pride and loyalty to Skinner, Willie always gets a lot of laughs whenever he appears on an episode of The Simpsons.
7/10 Lionel Hutz
Lionel Hutz first appeared in Season 2’s “Bart Gets Hit by a Car” when The Simpsons hired him to represent Bart against Mr. Burns in court. Hilariously played by the late great Phil Hartman, Hutz is a fraudulent ambulance chaser who learns his defense strategies by watching court proceedings on silent television in bars.
Hutz is the polar opposite of Springfield’s other most famous attorney, the blue-haired attorney. Rather than using unscrupulous methods to bail out wealthy and guilty clients, Hutz’s senseless incompetence causes him to lose what should be open and closed business.
6/10 The comic book guy
Comic Book Guy first appeared in Season 2’s “Three Men and a Comic Book,” and — as the perfect parody of any pop culture fan with high standards — the character has only grown in popularity. relevance over time. He likes to declare that things are the worst ever. After a screening of Cosmic Wars: The Gathering Shadow, Comic Book Guy declares: “The worst cosmic wars ever! I will only see him again three times…today.
The writers sometimes use Comic Book Guy’s pop culture fandom for a meta commentary on their own show, often stating that a given episode of The Simpsons is the “worst episode ever!” »
5/10 Dr. Hibbert
Although Homer finds himself in scrapes and life-threatening injuries on a daily basis, the Simpson family’s doctor, Dr. Hibbert, was nowhere to be found in the show’s first season. Instead, the giggling Doctor first appeared in Season 2’s “Bart the Daredevil.”
Inspired by a local stuntman, Bart decided to attempt dangerous feats for the entertainment of his classmates. Dr. Hibbert, of course, advised against this – but he punctuated that advice with his signature laugh.
4/10 Mona Simpson
While Homer’s father, Abe, has featured prominently since The Simpsons series began, his absent mother, Mona, has only appeared in an occasional episode. Mona briefly appeared in a flashback in “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” from Season 2, marking her first screen appearance.
The character wouldn’t make her debut, brought to life by a fine guest performance from Glenn Close, until she reconnected with Homer and met Marge and the kids in season 7’s “Mother Simpson.” From then on, she was a Simpsons icon.
3/10 Hans Moleman
Although a character who looks like him (minus the glasses) can be seen sleeping in a movie theater in one of Tracey Ullman’s original shorts, the Hans Moleman that fans know and love appeared for the first time in Season 2’s “Principal Charming”, although his licensed driver identified him as “Ralph Melish”.
Moleman was theorized to be part of a race of underground clones trying and failing to invade the surface world. Either that or he’s just the unluckiest man in Springfield.
2/10 Fat Tony
Anthony “Fat Tony” D’Amico first appeared in Season 3’s “Bart the Murderer,” in which he hired Bart to work as an errand boy, a la Henry Hill in Goodfellas. Fat Tony may be a fearsome mob boss who robs, bullies, and kills people for a living, but he’s also oddly lovable.
Whether he’s hooking up with Garfield or getting his wife to hear about where the pretzel money is, Fat Tony is always hilarious despite his illicit job.
1/10 Troy McClure
Lionel Hutz isn’t the only fan-favorite Simpsons character voiced by the late Phil Hartman. Hartman also provided the voice of Troy McClure, who first appeared in “Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment” from season 2. McClure is a Z-list actor seen in schlocky low-budget movies, tacky infomercials, and wildly inaccurate educational films.
The writers always spent a field day coming up with fake movie titles to complete Troy’s intro catchphrase: “Hi, I’m Troy McClure, you might remember me from movies like…”
The 10 Best Simpsons Characters Featured After Season 1 | Pretty Reel