The Simpsons dethrone Fred and Wilma
February 7, 1997, New York AP

Wil-maaahhh! Look what Homer and Marge are doing now! The Simpsons on Friday night ties a record set by The Flintstones as the longest-running prime-time animated show, and breaks it on Sunday.

The Flintstones aired 166 episodes on prime time during 1960-1966. Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons is No. 167.

“I can’t believe we’ve been annoying people for this long,” said Simpsons creator and executive producer Matt Groening.

The Simpsons was first seen as part of The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987 and debuted as its own series on Fox on Jan. 14, 1990.

No word yet on whether the Simpsons make any on-air references to the modern Stone Age family.

The Simpsons was ranked among the top 30 shows by Nielsen Media Research last week, along with Fox’s new animated program, King of the Hill.