The Simpsons creator reveals how he actually wants final episode to be after season finale confused fans

Remember that The Simpsons-related scare we all had last month when season 36 premiered?

It appeared to be the beginning of the end for the cartoon sitcom when the first episode of the new series was dubbed it's 'final' one too, which obviously sparked panic across the planet.

It's been a staple on our television screens since 1989, so there was obviously a large degree of alarm among viewers when they saw the words 'the finale' pop up on their screens back on 29 Septembe

The episode - titled 'Bart's Birthday' - opened with former writer Conan O’Brien explaining that he was back to give the famous yellow family their final send off.

"It’s such an honour to be with you all for the series finale of The Simpsons," the comedian said in his opening remarks.

"Well, it’s true. Fox has decided to end The Simpsons. This show was such a special part of my early career, so being here means the world to me."

The episode then featured recreations of show finales from hit shows such as Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos and Succession, emphasising the point of searching for the perfect goodbye to a TV project.

However, this whole thing ended up being a ruse and the show was saved thanks to Bart's birthday.

He ends up rejecting turning 11-years-old at the last minute after refusing to blow out his birthday candles, an act which reset the events of the episode - meaning The Simpsons lives to fight another day.

Even though the finale was a false alarm, it obviously got fans thinking about how the comical cartoon might eventually wrap up one day... and it turns out this has been on executive producer Matt Selman's mind too.

The showrunner - who joined The Simpsons in 1997 - has revealed that he's been weighing up some exit strategies for the show, hypothetically of course, which also include the possibility of a main cast member being killed off.

Speaking to PEOPLE, the TV writer said about his thoughts on the show's future: "That, I'm in super denial about. I don't think about it, so I'm just going to not think about that.

"But certainly, it's just if the show ever does a last episode."

He does have one wish for the final episode of The Simpsons, though.

Selman continued: "I just hope it's just a regular episode with no Winky Winky stuff at all. Just a great family story, just like a classic story that's just funny and involves the whole family and doesn't feel like it needs to wrap up anything, or change anything, or tie anything up, or be magic, or talk to the audience directly."

He said that he believes they don't really need to make a big deal about a finale episode in the future now anyway, as the contents of 'Bart's Birthday' has taken care of that in his eyes.