Why The Simpsons killed off popular character after 35 years on the show

TV show deaths can often be the most devastating thing to happen in the script, and there's no proper way to mourn the loss of your favourite character.

We've all been knocked back by a sudden on-screen death, and it's not for the faint of heart.

There was Dean...a few times in Supernatural, Enzo, Stefan, Bonnie (a few times), and Jeremy (a few times as well) in The Vampire Diaries.

Then there's most of the cast of The Walking Dead, or Game of Thrones.

Shows will always hit you where it hurts, but this time, they brought out the big guns.

Fans of The Simpsons haven’t really had to deal with many of hard these moments, but there was one that crushed everyone due to how unexpected it was.

You're probably still hurting over this death, and it's okay to be grieving the loss of a staple character.

Larry the Barfly was the latest Simpsons character to die. (Disney)

Everyone remembers the beloved drunk character and a regular at Moe’s Tavern, Larry the Barfly, aka Larry Dalrymple.

His penchant for drinking Duff beer like it’s water with the gang was phenomenal, but in episode 765, the show runners made the decision to pull the trigger on the character that was popular among the show's fanbase.

For 35 years, people watched Larry, and they cut his life so short.

It was during 'Cremains the Day' that Larry suddenly drops dead at the bar.

What follows this is a touching moment between Homer, Moe, Lenny, and Carl at Larry's funeral, when they realise that they know next to nothing about their long-time friend.

And fans were gutted about this twist in the show’s arc and were quick to call out the show for breaking their hearts.

They shared on X their thoughts on his death.

One user wrote a day before the episode aired: "Just learned they are killing off Larry on The Simpsons tomorrow. I need a minute.”

Another said: "Really enjoyed last night's Simpsons episode. But I couldn't stop wondering why there was no mention of Larry's best friend, Sam."

A third said: "Holy s**t Larry from the Simpsons died, rest in peace my drunken king."

This led to co-executive producer Tim Long telling TMZ that he’s ‘sorry’ for upsetting fans and that his death was meant to pack a punch to fans.

But why did they choose Larry, of all people?

The group mourn the loss of Larry the Barfly. (Disney)

Long went on to share that he wanted to ‘hit the audience hard’ with Larry’s death, because despite his minimal role in The Simpsons, he was beloved.

He shared to Variety in an email: “I'm sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry's death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn't take anyone for granted.”

It can be seen in the subsequent scenes after his death that it pulls together the Tavern crew to think about their friend, how they treated him, and how they could manage such a long relationship without gaining any personal details about him.

It was meant to be a self-reflective moment for the characters, and it did exactly that.

In his email, Long added: "To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became Larry’s life like the way he left it: drunk, lonely, and with a butt full of sapphires."