The Simpsons voices re-sign a new deal

It took just a few weeks, but the trouble is over. The two sides have met and negotiated a fair arrangement. No, I'm not referring to the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama camps and the Florida and Michigan delegates. No, the news is more animated than that. The powers that be at 20th Century Fox TV have re-signed the actors who voice the The Simpsons.

The principals are signing new four-year deals in which the talent will receive substantial increases in salary. They had been getting $360,000 per episode and were looking for a bump up in that fee to $500,000 per. The negotiated compromise amount is about $400,000 per show. And as expected, instead of a 22 episode season commencing next fall, there'll be 20 shows in the year ahead.

And Homer is getting a special promotion. Dan Castellaneta who voices Homer -- as well as Grampy Simpson and Krusty the Klown, among others -- will be getting a new credit. He'll be a consulting producer.

This is good news all around; Fox knows what they have with The Simpsons franchise. Considering that they've only had to ante up a little more than 11% increases to the actors, they did fine -- as did the actors. This is a win-win all around, including a win for the viewers. The Simpsons cast will be back to work next week.