When The Simpsons premiered on Fox in late 1989, it did not come out of nowhere. In retrospect, no one will dispute the show's mass appeal; but back in the 1980s, the idea of producing an animated sitcom did not easily harmonize with the concept of mainstream media entertainment. More precisely, the show's birth might be understood as the effect of multiple negotiation processes—both industry-related and linked to larger cultural shifts. On the one hand, The Simpsons was an industrial experiment; on the other, it filled a cultural void.

Throughout the Reagan presidency, television had exhibited a considerable conservative streak. Peter Levy asserts that Reaganism “sought to invoke a nostalgia for the past, for a better and simpler time” (1996, p. 289). This aspiration characterized many television programs of this era, most notably sugar-coated family sitcoms like The Cosby Show (NBC, 1984–1992) and Family Ties (NBC, 1982–1989). Indeed, Reaganism's American Dream mythology seemed all-pervasive, and “liberal” content as offered by Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975–) found itself mostly at the fringes of the television schedule (either late at night or on niche channels).

The degree to which the coming of The Simpsons interrupted prime-time television in America is only understandable against the cultural background of the Reagan years.