The Simpsons composer Alf Clausen reportedly fired after 27 years

While it’s not all that often that we see the end of a composer on TV become enormous news, it’s big news when that composer is Alf Clausen. For 27 seasons, this man has been writing and leading the music on The Simpsons. It’s one of the best gigs that you can possibly have, mostly because your music is heard almost anywhere and everywhere in the world.

So why in the world would the show get rid of someone who is a part of the institution? Well, it may just have to do with a practice that we’ve seen for a few years now: The show trying to cut costs. Per a report from Variety, the show is letting go of Clausen, with one of the supposed reasons being that this could be a way for the powers that be behind the scenes to make the show the tiniest bit more cost-effective for themselves. They’re already paying the cast millions of dollars combined per episode for some of their work, and maybe through a smaller or different orchestra they feel like they can save a little bit more money.

The Simpsons is a show that, in theory, is not going to be going anywhere in the near future. After all, remember that Fox doesn’t see any reason to end it, and the ratings dictate that it is still doing very well. It’s the top-rated show in the Sunday-night lineup, and maybe a part of that is because of it benefiting heavily here and there from it being on the same night as NFL football. Even with that, though, it remains the perfect launching pad for the network. After all, almost everyone is aware of this show, and as a result of that, they’ll stick around to watch it.

Will The Simpsons have the same theme song?

We understand that there are some concerns there given that it’s the most iconic music of the show, but there’s nothing to worry about in that regard. Danny Elfman is actually responsible for the theme song, and it will apparently remain even if there are some other changes to the music. (We don’t think there will be major ones — why would the show want to sound different after so many years?)

In addition to doing his work on The Simpsons, Clausen is also ironically responsible for the music from the show ALF, and has also worked on some other series including The Critic. He’s clearly a legend in this industry, so we don’t really see this move being in any way representative of him or his legacy in this job.

What do you think about this move, and do you think that The Simpsons will still be the same? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below! Once there is some more information out there about The Simpsons and the new season, we’ll be sure to let you know. (Photo: Fox.)