He Was With The Simpsons for 27 Years. Now He's Fired

After an impressive 27 years and more than 560 episodes, The Simpsons has fired its longtime composer, Alf Clausen, Variety reports. Clausen says he was told by a producer the show was looking for "a different kind of music" moving forward. While Fox isn't commenting, it seems possible Clausen's firing was a move to save money. Following the desire of creator Matt Groening, Clausen used a 35-piece orchestra to score every episode of The Simpsons. Back in April, Clausen told Consequence of Sound a full orchestra "adds a lot to the story line and color." But it doesn't come cheap; costs for recording with an orchestra could reach millions of dollars per year.

Clausen's final episode of The Simpsons was the finale of Season 28, which aired last May. He's been the sole composer in the show's history, coming aboard for the very first "Treehouse of Horror" episode way back in Season 2, Screen Rant reports. He ends his run with 21 Emmy nominations and two wins—for "We Put the Spring in Springfield" and "You're Checkin' In." Clausen is believed to be the most-nominated musician in Emmy history. He also worked on Alf and Moonlighting. It's unclear who will replace him when The Simpsons returns this fall. (More The Simpsons stories.)