🍻 Moe’s Tavern / The Simpsons — Key Facts
| Fictional Bar Owner | Moe Szyslak (character in The Simpsons) |
| The Simpsons Creator | Matt Groening (created 1989) |
| IP Owner | The Walt Disney Company (via 20th Television Animation) |
| Disney Acquisition | March 2019 ($71.3B acquisition of 21st Century Fox) |
| Broadcast Network | Fox (Fox Corporation; separate from Disney) |
| Show Premiere | December 17, 1989 (longest-running primetime animated series) |
The bar owner in The Simpsons is Moe Szyslak, the gruff, sardonic fictional character who owns and operates Moe’s Tavern — the neighborhood dive bar in Springfield where Homer Simpson and his friends spend their leisure hours. In real-world terms, The Simpsons franchise and all its characters are owned by The Walt Disney Company, through its 20th Television Animation subsidiary, following Disney’s 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
Moe Szyslak: The Man Behind the Bar
Within The Simpsons universe, Moe Szyslak has been the owner and bartender of Moe’s Tavern since the show’s beginning. The character is voiced by Hank Azaria and is known for his miserable demeanor, terrible luck with romance, and surly-but-loyal friendship with Homer. Moe’s Tavern is the show’s recurring secondary location, the setting for countless plot points over 35+ seasons. The character is loosely inspired by comedic archetypes of the bitter, down-on-his-luck barman and has become one of television’s most recognizable fictional bar owners. Moe’s full backstory, revealed over the seasons, includes a failed boxing career and various tragicomic personal disasters.
Matt Groening and The Simpsons’ Real Ownership
The Simpsons was created by Matt Groening and developed for television by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon. The show premiered on Fox on December 17, 1989, and is the longest-running American primetime animated series. While Groening created the characters and serves as executive producer, the IP has been owned corporately — first by 20th Century Fox Television, then by The Walt Disney Company after Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in March 2019. This means Disney now owns Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, and yes — Moe Szyslak and his tavern.
The Irony: Disney Owns a Show That Parodies Disney
One of the more delicious ironies in entertainment is that The Simpsons has repeatedly satirized and mocked Disney throughout its run — and now Disney owns those very episodes. The show continues to air on Fox (Fox Corporation, controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s family through News Corp — a completely separate entity from Disney since the 2019 split). Disney streams The Simpsons on Disney+, while Fox continues to air new episodes. The show recently renewed through Season 40 (2028-29), ensuring its position as American television’s most durable animated franchise.
