With “The Simpsons” set to premiere its 36th season this fall on Fox, that won’t be the only place to watch new episodes of the long-running animated series. “The Simpsons” executive producers revealed Saturday at the D23 Convention in Anaheim that four new episodes will air exclusively on Disney+ next season.
The new episodes include a new two-part Christmas-themed episode, “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” which will premiere on December 17 — coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the first episode of “The Simpsons,” a similarly Christmas-themed episode titled “The Simpsons Roast on an Open Fire” in 1989.
Other episodes, titled “The Past and the Furious” and “The Yellow Planet,” will also air in the “coming months,” Disney+ said. In October, a new exclusive Halloween-themed “Simpsons” short film will also premiere on Disney+.
Disney+ has premiered several exclusive shorts from “The Simpsons” on the streaming platform, including “The Force Awakens from Its Nap,” “The Good, the Bart, and the Loki” and “Plusaversary” in 2021, followed by “When Billie Met Lisa,” “Welcome to the Club” and “The Simpsons Meet the Bocellis in ‘Feliz Navidad’” in 2022, “Rogue Not Quite One” in 2023 and “May the 12th Be with You” in 2024.
But this is the first time “The SIMPSONS” has produced an entire exclusive episode for Disney+ — which could raise some additional questions about the show’s future on Fox. Fox’s other 20th animated TV series, “Family Guy,” is also producing original episodes for Hulu in addition to its Fox run.
Matt Groening, Matt Selman, Al Jean, Mike Price, Brian Kelley, David Silverman and star Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) announced the news on stage at D23 during a panel discussion about “The Simpsons.”
The spokespeople also announced that the 35 episodes of Season 18 (18 total) that aired last season on Fox will premiere on October 2 on Disney+.
Just a few weeks ago, at the San Diego Comic-Con, The Simpsons revealed some of its plans for Season 36, including partnering with Stoopid Buddy (“Robot Chicken”) to take on Venom at the annual “Treehouse of Horror” festival this fall. “Treehouse of Horror” won’t be the only spooky event on “The Simpsons” this season, as producers announced a “second spooky trilogy” that will focus on three stories inspired by Ray Bradbury. The stories, called “Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes,” will be “dark, funny, and Halloween-themed,” Selman said.
Here's the poster for the season 35 premiere on Disney+:
