The Critic creators say reboot 'never been closer' to happening

The Critic ran for 23 episodes in the 1990s, following gluttonous, self-important film critic Jay Sherman and starring Jon Lovitz. Created by former Simpsons writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, the show spent one season on ABC and another on Fox before it was canceled.

The duo later returned to The Simpsons; Reiss worked as a part-time consultant and producer, while Jean was showrunner from 2002 until stepping back in 2025 to a consulting role. Jean says the project has cleared key hurdles. “The hurdles are passed with me making my deal,” he said, and added that the lead performer is on board though his contract is not yet finalized.

“It's never been closer to actually happening.” He’s already thinking about story ideas. “I've been thinking about ideas for it. I think a Critic would be very funny with Jay going to a Mets game and he falls in love with Mrs. Met, who's hitting on him,” Jean said.

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