The Simpsons Is Officially Changing Format
Over the past four decades, The Simpsons has weathered all kinds of changes in the TV industry. In 1989, when it first got spun off from The Tracey Ullman Show, the Fox network was a fledgling new venture that seemed doomed to fail. The Simpsons became the zeitgeist-defining television masterpiece of the ‘90s, and even after its golden age ended, and it started going downhill (somewhere between seasons 8 and 10), it continued to be one of the most popular shows on television. The Simpsons is like SNL; it’s a cornerstone of American television that refuses to go away. It’s been around forever, and it’s still going strong (well, it’s still going). In 2025, Disney renewed The Simpsons for another four seasons, each consisting of 15 episodes and two Disney+ specials, and there’s a Simpsons Movie sequel set for release on September 3, 2027. In the words of the series itself, they’ll never stop The Simpsons. Have no fears, they’ve got stories for years!
The Simpsons Is Releasing 3 Disney+ Exclusive Episodes This Summer
Moe Homer Lenny and Carl watch a sad Superintendent Chalmers talk at Moe’s in The Simpsons season 37 episode 2
Disney’s unprecedented four-season renewal of The Simpsons included two exclusive Disney+ specials in each episode count. These Disney+ specials are nothing new, but the Mouse House is stepping it up this summer. Over the summer season, The Simpsons will drop three exclusive episodes on Disney+. The first is a double episode called “Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition,” a trilogy episode in which the kids’ only babysitter on Homer and Marge’s date night is a Ring doorbell camera. That one will premiere on Disney+ on June 17. The second episode, “Simpsley,” a noir-style episode riffing on Ripley, will be released on July 3. The third episode, “Yellow Mirror,” an anthology-style episode spoofing the dystopian tech nightmares of Black Mirror, will be released on August 26.
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This might not seem like such a radical change for The Simpsons. The show has been doing these one-off streaming specials for years. But the previous Disney+ exclusive episodes were released within season 36, while these three are outside the usual Network TV calendar. These episodes are officially straight-to-streaming releases, and they represent The Simpsons finally adapting to the changing TV landscape of the 2020s.
The Simpsons Is Evolving Towards A Different Release Format
The Simpsons stand in front of their couch animated in the style of a Merry Melodies Disney cartoon in The Simpsons
The Simpsons isn’t going anywhere, but traditional TV networks like Fox are on their way out. If Fox implodes, it won’t take The Simpsons down with it; The Simpsons will just adapt with the industry and become a Disney+ exclusive show, with no episodes airing on an actual TV channel at a specified time like they did in 1989. Over the years, we’ve seen The Simpsons adapt to corporate mergers, the switch to high-definition, the switch to digital animation, and now the age of streaming. It’ll keep adapting, whether it continues airing on Fox or not. This dysfunctional yellow family will probably outlive Disney+, too, and eventually get moved to some new platform (maybe some device that beams TV shows directly into people’s brains).
The Simpsons is credited with changing the entire TV comedy landscape, but it’s been about 25 years since it last felt truly game-changing. Maybe adapting the show’s format is just the jolt it needs to feel fresh and relevant again (although, having been let down time and time again for the past two decades, I very much doubt it). The Simpsons already has fewer episodes per season now — barring the streaming specials, it’s down to just 15 episodes a season (by comparison, seasons 6 through 9 all had 25 episodes each) — but how these episodes are released is changing. The Simpsons season 50 will be 10 episodes long, go straight to streaming, and get chopped up into eight-second TikToks (or whatever format has replaced TikTok by then).
The Simpsons
9/10
Release Date
December 17, 1989
Network
FOX
Showrunner
Al Jean
Directors
Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Rob Oliver, Michael Polcino, Mike B. Anderson, Chris Clements, Wes Archer, Timothy Bailey, Lance Kramer, Nancy Kruse, Matthew Faughnan, Chuck Sheetz, Rich Moore, Jeffrey Lynch, Pete Michels, Susie Dietter, Raymond S. Persi, Carlos Baeza, Dominic Polcino, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Marcantel, Neil Affleck, Swinton O. Scott III, Jennifer Moeller
Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)
Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)
Diterbitkan : 2026-06-09 20:30:00
sumber : screenrant.com
