Los Angeles, Oct 6 (IANS): “The Simpsons” will continue for a 26th season, cementing the show's status as the longest-running animated series in American TV history.

The Fox broadcast network confirmed the next season and described the animated series as "one of the greatest sitcoms of our time".

"For more than a quarter of a century,'The Simpsons' has captured the hearts and minds of fans in a way that transcends ages, languages and cultures,” contactmusic.com quoted Kevin Reilly, Fox entertainment chairman, as saying.

"This ground-breaking series is not only the longest-running scripted show in television history, it's one of the greatest sitcoms of our time, and I'm looking forward to yet another landmark season,” Reilly added.

The show recently kicked off its 25th season and producer Al Jean told Sun News that a regular character will be killed off in the forthcoming series, but didn't reveal any information about which character it will be.

"I'll give you a clue that the actor playing the character won an Emmy for playing that character, but I won't say who it is" Jean told the network.