If you're still watching the 37-season-old "The Simpsons," you may have noticed something missing - there are hardly any more opening couch gags. The intro that had the family dashing into their living room and sitting on the couch has been part of the long running animated comedy almost since the beginning. 

But in the past year, it's been mostly missing. What happened? A Simpsons showrunner explains they simply don't have time for them anymore, needing it to tell a full story on the actual episode. And I kind of expect after all these years, they may have simply run out of ideas.

"I wish we could have the time for a funny couch gag every episode, but I'm not going to cut the storytelling short to do so," [showrunner Matt Selman] said. "I want to tell the best story we can, and to do that, we're going to need twenty minutes and forty seconds." 

I have to admit, I still watch - and hadn't even noticed. His comments about streaming are also kind of interesting. 

The Simpsons showrunner reveals why the couch gags have been gradually phased out