It’s the end of an era in Springfield. There’s been a huge creative shift behind the scenes for The Simpsons, now in its 37th season running on the TV schedule, and though it is definitely bittersweet news, it also raises a very exciting possibility for the upcoming Simpsons Movie 2.

After more than a decade as showrunner and one of the longest continuous stints in Simpsons history, Al Jean is stepping down from his post. For fans who’ve followed the series from its golden age of episodes to its current pop-culture legacy status, the former It's Gary Shandling's Show producer announced the news himself on X , writing:

The post included a teaser image for the November 2 episode titled "Bad Boys… For Life?," which Jean penned and longtime Simpsons staffer Eric Koenig directed. While the animation legend makes it clear he’s not leaving the show entirely, this is the first time in over 13 years someone else will be steering the ship solo. So what could this mean for The Simpsons movie sequel?

What This Could Mean For The Simpsons Sequel

Let’s get to the big hope here: The Simpsons Movie 2. This move comes on the heels of 20th Century Studios confirming that The Simpsons sequel is officially in development, with a release date set for July 23, 2027, exactly 20 years after the first film. The teaser, featuring Homer holding a sprinkle-covered donut in the shape of a number 2, is pure classic Simpsons and signed by creator Matt Groening.

Jean co-wrote the original Simpsons Movie, and if his departure frees up time, it’s not a stretch to think he’ll play a major role in crafting the sequel. He’s always been a champion of storytelling consistency in The Simpsons universe, and having him on board would give the movie the kind of creative continuity that longtime fans more than likely want.

How Fans Are Reacting To The Shake Up

Al Jean has been part of The Simpsons since the beginning, writing for the first two seasons before becoming co-showrunner in Season 3 alongside Mike Reiss. After returning in Season 13 as the sole showrunner, he’s held that role for more than two decades. His impact on the tone, pacing, and humor of the modern Simpsons cannot be overstated. So naturally, fans have feelings about the news. Here are some of the standout reactions to the series stalwart’s announcement on X:

• “Great stuff Al. Would love to have you on the show to discuss your Simpsons legacy. Enjoy the well-deserved rest” – @fourfingerpod
• “Thanks for all the years and memories. This show means so much to so many people . Visiting Springfield is my go to when I'm stressed, sad, or worried. It always allows for an escape. Thanks for interacting with us fans on here when you don't have to.” – @DarbyD53
• “Thanks for creating probably the single greatest comedy ever on television.. I remember at work in the late nineties, and we were talking about what is The greatest show on tv, and I said the simpsons. People looked at me weird, but twenty five years later i'm right.” – @StevenTaub1
• “Mom is as old as The Simpsons introduced to me at 12 years old. Watch the entire show from season one to season 34 or season 35 Ish thank you for all your good episodes. Mr jean.” – @AWynn20406

The veteran writer has been the creative guardian of The Simpsons for an entire generation, and his stepping down marks a real changing of the guard. Judging by the outpouring of gratitude from long-time fans, it’s clear how deeply his influence and humor have resonated over the years.

What’s Next for The Simpsons

The Simpsons is currently in its 37th season (and yes, it’s still airing Sunday nights on FOX), with no signs of slowing down. But as it gears up for what might be its most ambitious project since 2007, this behind-the-scenes shift could be precisely what the franchise needs–fresh blood for the small screen and a longtime veteran handling the big screen. Because honestly, after 20 years, The Simpsons Movie 2 is long overdue, and Al Jean is just the man to helm, or at least co-helm, the long-awaited flick.

As we see how this plays out for the beloved series, fans can revisit all their favorite character moments and storylines by streaming the entire series —maybe the best thing on the streamer —with a Disney+ subscription.

A new Simpsons short is here that crosses over with the best Walt Disney Animation Studios movies, and once again, the Disney Villains are getting time to shine. The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year has Sideshow Bob once again taking his revenge on the famous animated TV family, and this time he has help from the baddest baddies from the House of Mouse. But I want to talk about the way I gasped at one mention of 1942’s Bambi!

During the short, now streaming on the Disney+ subscription, Sideshow Bob parodies the popular Christmas song “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” with the help of some Disney Villains. In one particularly shocking moment, The Simpsons shows truly nothing is off the table, as the death of Bambi gets a twisted shoutout. But when I talked to the short’s writer/producer Al Jean, he revealed the sweet reason why the reference was actually made. In his words:

In the new version of the song, Sideshow Bob sings “with a cat barbecuing, and poison a-brewing and shooting a deer.” During that last phrase, Bambi’s shooter is in sight, having the time of his life as Bambi’s poor mom is on target. Sideshow Bob is wearing a bib of Bambi, too. As a longtime Disney fan, I felt incredibly triggered by the small moment, but I loved what Al Jean had to say about getting the joke in the short.

During our interview, Al Jean also added that The Most Wonderful Time of the Year actually isn’t the first time Bambi’s mom getting killed has been referenced. (I guess it’s time for me to binge the original show again!) I respect that the moment was actually added because Jean loves the animated movie. And hey, the fact that this singular moment affected me so much speaks to how effective the classic movie is.

Along with the amazing Bambi reference, all the classic Disney villains are there. Plus, there's Star Wars big bad Darth Vader and Marvel’s most terrifying character, Thanos. Also, the addition of Agatha Harkness of WandaVision and Agatha All Along makes her first Simpsons appearance in the background, while leading the Disney+ charts with her new series at the same time.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year is such a fun short for Halloween time and a solid reminder that one of the most terrifying villain of all time in Disney history we never see the face of.

If you’ve been enjoying Agatha All Along with a Disney+ subscription, did you know this week it’s double the Agatha Harkness? A new Simpsons short just dropped on the streaming service called “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,” and it includes Agatha Harkness in Simpsons form alongside some of Disney’s most formidable villains. We love to see this induction, but it’s not the only Simpsons connection there is with the Marvel witch. CinemaBlend spoke to The Simpsons writer/producer Al Jean on the subject.

Agatha Harkness Makes A Cameo In New Simpsons Short

Disney+ has continued its collaboration with The Simpsons to bring a brand new short that has Kelsey Grammer’s Sideshow Bob back to continue the running gag of him getting his revenge on Bart Simpson. This time around he recruits the best Disney Villains to terrorize Springfield while putting a Halloween spin on “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.” During the short, you can spot Agatha Harkness flying through Springfield. See her?

Agatha Harkness has joined the Disney villains before during Disneyland Park’s annual Halloween event at the Avengers Campus, but now she’s getting recognition as a Disney villain through this short. When CinemaBlend spoke to Simpsons’ Al Jean about the cameo, he said this:

It’s the perfect cameo given the Agatha All Along TV series is high on the mind of Disney+ viewers right now since it's the No. 1 series on the platform right now. While Jean and the Simpsons creators were not clued in on the specifics of the Marvel series, such as the major Teen reveal that happened this week, it’s pretty awesome to see her part of the Disney Villains gang!!

Simpsons Writer Reacts To Lisa Simpson Being In The Agatha All Along Credits

But that’s not the only tie Agatha All Along has with Simpsons. As you might have noticed in the credits of the series, Lisa Simpson is one of the witches featured. Here’s how Al Jean reacted during our interview:

During the credits, all sorts of references to classic witches can be found, including the Evil Queen in witch form from Snow White and The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, among other imagery. Here’s how Lisa Simpson is featured:

Al Jean, who has been working on The Simpsons since it started in 1989, had no idea Lisa Simpson was part of the series until he watched it, but absolutely loved the reference. As he shared:

Lisa Simpson has definitely been known to dress up as a witch on occasion, most memorably in Treehouse of Horror XIX, where she tells Millhouse that she’s “not a witch,” she’s a “Wiccan” before asking “Why is it that whenever a woman is strong and powerful, they call her a witch?” Here’s hoping Lisa gets another Halloween moment like this once the next Treehouse Of Horror special comes out this season!

You can catch the new Simpsons short on Disney+ now, and check out what else is new on streaming here on CinemaBlend!

The Simpsons had a fun little Mother's Day treat for fans with a Disney+ subscription, and there was a lot to love about "May The 12th Be With You." In addition to a Bluey cameo that could prompt a crossover, fans also got another crossover appearance from Family Guy's clan, with Seth MacFarlane appearing for a Stewie cameo. When talking to Simpsons executive producer Al Jean about MacFarlane's return, I also asked for his thoughts about the two shows no longer airing together on Sunday nights. 

The Simpsons winked at the Griffin family in the latest all-star animated short, which also joked about King of the Hill and Bob's Burgers not being available on Disney+, via Marge exclaiming, "Who let the Hulu kids in?" Stewie was the only one of that bunch to actually speak up, and Al Jean told CinemaBlend that the ever-busy Seth MacFarlane was happy to lend his talents.

It is quite a compliment that The Simpsons to highlight Stewie Griffin in such a way, considering it had the entire Disney lineup, Marvel, and Star Wars characters to choose from. Of course, there's been great mutual respect between the two shows over the years, which led to one of the greatest Family Guy episodes of all time with them crossing over. 

It was nice to see Stewie in such close proximity to The Simpsons in the short because that has not been the case in Fox's primetime lineup. The network moved Family Guy to Wednesday nights, separating it from the rest of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Sundays. While FG showrunner Alec Sulkin said he wasn't concerned about the switch, Al Jean had some blunt thoughts to share about the shift: 

Not much to read between the lines on with that statement. Al Jean would like to see Family Guy move back to Sundays with The Simpsons, Krapopolis, and the other animated shows that rotate in and out of the decades-long programming block. As a longtime fan of both shows, I can attest it is weird to see them out of their programming slots, but I will concede I'm part of the crowd who catches both on streaming rather than their scheduled times. 

Stewie Griffin's appearance on "May The 12th Be With You" was a blast, enough to make me wonder if there's justification to see Family Guy and The Simpsons back together again. It's not just on Sunday nights, either, as I think another crossover episode would be a blast. Maybe they could find a way to get all the primetime animated shows together for one big adventure. 

Hey, Disney already had the Simpson family link up with a bunch of Disney characters. I wouldn't say that my idea is as impossible as some would think. If they have the creative runway to joke about Bambi's mother being shot a second time by hunters, I think they can make just about anything happen. Let's get a shot-for-shot remake of The Avengers with Homer as Iron Man and Bobby Hill as Captain America. 

The Simpsons is available to stream on Disney+, and if you haven't binged the first ten seasons or more in a while, it may be high time to get to it. As for Family Guy, it's over on Hulu, and hopefully still rolling strong with its metric for success seemingly not entirely reliant on traditional television ratings. 

Warning! The following contains a minor spoiler for The Simpsons' "May The 12th Be With You" short. Watch it with a Disney+ subscription and read at your own risk!

There are few animated shows in the world that appeal as much to adults as they do to children and vice versa. Those few that check that box seem to reach revered status in the television world and occasionally get hardware stores to change their name after a popular episode. The Simpsons and Bluey are two great examples of this, and according to Simpsons executive producer Al Jean, there's interest on their end in having the Simpsons and Heeler family meet up.

The comments arrive after The Simpsons' latest short, "May The 12th Be With You," which features cameos of mothers and daughters from around the Disney brand and plenty of surprises, including a brief cameo from Bluey characters. We won't spoil the moment for readers who haven't watched, but let's dive into what exactly The Simpsons' top brass had to say about a potential collaboration with the beloved children's show.

Al Jean Says The Simpsons Staff Has Interest In A Bluey Crossover

I had the honor of speaking to Al Jean about The Simpsons short and while we talked, I brought up the cameo and wondered if there were any fans of Bluey on the staff who were just as invested in the drama of "The Sign" as our staff was. The executive producer and writer seemed happy to discuss the topic and blew my mind with the following statement:

As an adult who was raised on The Simpsons, who now has a daughter who is raised on Bluey and only just starting to watch the former show, I couldn't contain my excitement. It's a combination I would've never thought of previously, but the longer I think about it, it makes even more sense. Here we thought the Family Guy crossover was the best one ever, and it turns out the best may be yet to come.

Bluey Has Referenced The Simpsons In The Past

Readers may or may not be aware that while it's subtle, Bluey has referenced The Simpsons on its show in the past. The video below shows some of the references, and I really appreciate the one with Muffin channeling Lisa:

It feels like the Bluey team leans into the first ten seasons of The Simpsons with their references, which is understandable because those episodes are often the most acclaimed acclaimed.

The Simpsons and Bluey joining up is a fantastic idea, whether it's the Simpson family traveling to Australia or the Heeler family vacationing in Springfield. I'll confess I'm more invested in the latter idea because I think I'd love to see Bandit hanging out with Homer in Moe's Tavern. Also, am I the only one who thinks Chilli would be pen pals with Marge?

Of course, there is a question of whether or not Disney would be as keen on making this happen as The Simpsons or Bluey staff would. Despite having adults who watch that take away the same life lessons as kids, Al Jean noted the overall audience for the show is much younger than The Simpsons. Would viewers respond well to a full-length crossover, or would it be a niche thing that only a select audience would appreciate? I think it would be a hit, but obviously, I have no skin in the game, so we'll have to wait and see if it ever comes to pass.

Bluey and The Simpsons are available to stream right now on Disney+. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we get an announcement that the two hit shows will bring a special our way, because I'm already thinking of all the ways it would be so amazing.

Seth MacFarlane is getting a lot of press as of late for his work on The Orville (which is no longer on Fox) but, of course, many know him for his work in animation. MacFarlane is the mastermind behind Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, so he’s had a lot of success in that medium. So much so that one might assume he cut his teeth working on The Simpsons before crafting his own hits. And when he was asked about that, he answered and gave a thoughtful shoutout to Matt Groening, Al Jean and their collaborators.

Seth MacFarlane answered the question during an interview for Wired's Autocomplete Interview and his opening response, “I fucking wish,” really says it all. While MacFarlane didn’t create or work on The Simpsons ahead of his other work in animation, it's very clear that he has no problem giving props to the people who do work on the long-running animated sitcom:

Seth MacFarlane went on to note that he’s friends with the creator of the Fox series, Matt Groening, as well as other notable names from the show like Al Jean, Mike Reiss, and Mike Scully. It’s clear by the things MacFarlane said about the show that he values what it's done for animation and how it paved the way for future shows like Family Guy. 

Though the actor and writer didn't work on The Simpsons, the series did have a crossover with Family Guy back in 2014. “The Simpsons Guy” featured the characters meeting each other in what seems like a once-in-a-lifetime event, and MacFarlane provided the voices for his usual characters like Brian, Stewie, and Peter. The episode definitely turned some heads and in hindsight, serves as a perfect example of how Matt Groening's show influenced the FG, which didn't truly rip it off. 

There was once a point in which Simpsons was considered “edgy” in pop culture but, in an age where South Park and Family Guy continually push the envelope with controversial humor, it’s perceived as much tamer now. Other critics expressed just that when “The Simpsons Guy” was released and noted how the melding of the shows' varying comedy styles felt somewhat jarring. 

Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy has followed in The Simpsons’ footsteps in a number of ways, but there are still things it needs to accomplish for itself. For example, the franchise hasn’t had a big-screen adaptation, while other shows that came after it,  like Bob’s Burgers have had animated features. Seth MacFarlane claimed in 2019 that it's still something he wants to do and that he even has an idea for a story. There hasn't been any news yet but, when it comes to making a film, I'd take some cues from the Simpsons buddies he admires so much.

Family Guy airs on Fox on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET. The summer season is approaching, and with so many shows ending for the season, now is as good a time as ever to look up what new shows are premiering and find some new things to watch. You can also stream episodes of Seth MacFarlane's show by streaming them with a Hulu subscription.

The Simpsons has been known over the course of its 33 seasons to make some pretty wild predictions. The animated Fox series saw Richard Branson traveling to space, the purchase of 20th Century Fox by Disney and even Donald Trump’s presidency. Most recently, however, fans have been pointing out that the show seems to have predicted the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean offered his take on the show’s supposed glimpse into the future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion on Ukraine last week. Hundreds of military and civilians have been killed, with hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine fleeing the country. Al Jean of The Simpsons offered some thoughtful insight into the reference made in 1998’s “Simpson Tide,” telling THR this instance doesn’t entirely fall in the “prediction” category. 

It seems like Al Jean saw conflict with Russia as more of an inevitability than a prediction, saying it was a situation “where we reference something that has happened happening again — we hope it wouldn’t, but sadly, it does.”

In the Season 9 episode “Simpson Tide” — which aired in 1998, seven years after the fall of the Soviet Union — Homer joined the Navy and started an international incident with Russia, which revealed that the Soviet Union’s dissolution had been a ruse. Al Jean said even back then it wasn’t hard to imagine trouble with Russia would come again in the future.

As fans started to point out the supposed prediction made by The Simpsons in 1998, the show’s official Twitter page posted a photo that showed the famous animated family each holding a Ukrainian flag.

So this instance might not really count as a prediction, but it would also be fair to say that many of the predictions and chalkboard gags that have proven prophetic are inspired by educated guesses from its obviously smart writers. While the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is definitely not one The Simpsons wants to take credit for, Al Jean has spoken about a couple of predictions he’d love to see come to fruition, and the road to world peace is among those.

The Simpsons has been going on for over three decades now and the show isn't slowing down any time soon. Though that isn’t stopping showrunner Al Jean from having ideas for the series finale, however soon or far away that may be. And like many finales, it will have a connection to the very first episode. 

The beloved animated series first came onto the scene in 1989 and was just renewed through 2023. The Simpsons is in its 33rd season and is the longest-running American animated and scripted series. Assuming it lasts beyond 2023, there’s no telling when the series will come to an end, if it ever does. Still, showrunner Al Jean has an awesome ending in mind, as he revealed RadioTimes:

It would be interesting to see The Simpsons end in a way that establishes a continuous loop, especially given how much animation and technology has changed over the years since 1989. While there’s no end in sight as of now for The Simpsons, one can never plan too early just in case. The series recently celebrated 700 episodes, and even Al Jean hasn't ruled out reaching 1,000. 

This isn’t the first time that Al Jean has brought up ending The Simpsons in a loop. Back in 2018, the showrunner was asked at San Diego Comic-Con how the series would end. Even three years ago, Jean had the idea to loop back to the show’s beginning, connecting the entirety of the series. That said, there are a lot of variables when it comes to The Simpsons ending, if and when that day comes in the foreseeable future. 

It’s likely that the end of The Simpsons is many years, perhaps even decades, away. So Al Jean has plenty of time to work on the finale or add to it. But it sounds pretty perfect to me. With so many episodes, connecting all of it back to the very first episode would be the best way to end such a huge and beloved series that has gone through so much.

However The Simpsons takes its final bow will surely be something to look forward to. The show has 30+ seasons under its belt with more on the way. Fans will have Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie for years to come, at least through 2023. For now, you can find new episodes of The Simpsons Season 33 on Fox on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET, and spend hours and hours back in the earlier days of the series with the first 32 seasons streaming on Disney+ now.

Over the course of its 32-season run, The Simpsons has welcomed a number of notable guest stars into the fold, with each one lending their own unique flair to a resident or visitor to Springfield. Jackie Mason was certainly one of those people, as the veteran comedian and actor became a fan-favorite through his role as Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky. Unfortunately, Mason passed away this past weekend at the age of 93 but, now, members of the Simpsons family are taking the time to pay tribute to the late star.

Jackie Mason’s Hyman Krustofsky was originally introduced on The Simpsons in the third season episode “Like Father, Like Clown” as the estranged religious father of Krusty the Clown. Eventually, the two would reconcile but would still have their ups and downs here and there. Mason’s character was retired in 2014’s “Clown in the Dumps,” which saw the death of Krustofsky. Krusty struggled with the development and, in Simpsons showrunner Al Jean’s Twitter tribute to Mason, he channelled the clown’s emotions:

Al Jean’s sentiments were a nice way to pay tribute to Jackie Mason, and one of his colleagues took notice of them. The Simpsons animator David Silverman retweeted Jean’s post and added some comments of his own:

Jackie Mason also received tributes from his fellow performers. The one and only Gilbert Gottfried was among those to pay their respects to the late comedian. In a social media post of his own, he shared a photo of himself and Mason, complete with a short but sweet caption:

Acting legend Michael McKean, who has also been a guest star on The Simpsons, honored Jackie Mason as well. The actor reflected on a humorous early encounter with the comedian and, based on what we know about Mason, the situation sounds pretty true to his character:

During the course of his career, Jackie Mason distinguished himself within the world of comedy using his distinct delivery and constant use of puns. He was also noted for taking a more grounded approach to comedy in his routines. He was, however, known to create controversy at times due to the sometimes politically incorrect nature of his work.

The entertainer also amassed a number of significant honors over the years. This included a Special Tony Award, an ACE award and three Emmys. One of those Emmys was actually earned for his work on The Simpsons.

It goes without saying that Jackie Mason made quite a mark on the world of comedy, and you can certainly feel it through the tributes. His role on The Simpsons also gives him a firm place in the world of animation as well, and it’s great to see members of the show pay their respects.

We here at CinemaBlend extend our thoughts to the family and loved ones of Jackie Mason during this time.

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With an amazing 32 seasons under its belt, The Simpsons has been not only a pop culture staple on its own for several decades, but a way for those behind the classic animated series to examine a lot of things seen in the real world, including other major pop culture touchstones. The show recently used the lore of Star Wars to create the short The Force Awakens from Its Nap, and while another recently released short, The Good, The Bart, and The Loki takes on the God of Mischief and all things Marvel, it turns out that there was one cameo they weren't allowed to use.

The new parody The Simpsons: The Good, The Bart, and The Loki, sees Loki banished to Springfield for one of his many misdeeds, where he accidentally transports Lisa to Asgard, and the put-upon middle child ends up being granted with Thor's powers. The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean, who's been working with the series for nearly its entire run in one capacity or another, recently spoke about the new short with Comicbook. During the chat, he revealed that with all of the hundreds of characters available in Marvel Comics, and the dozens who've populated the MCU, there was only one cameo they weren't allowed, and said:

Marvel's Stan Lee, of course, famously appeared in all of the property's films, animated shows, and several of the live action series before his death in November 2018 at the age of 95. But, he also popped up (whether as himself or not) now and then in non-Marvel movies or shows, such as The Big Bang Theory, Heroes, Yoga Hosers, Fresh Off the Boat, and The Simpsons.

In fact, Lee voiced himself on the animated series three times, and the show had unused audio left over which could have easily been worked into The Good, The Bart, and The Loki. Al Jean made it clear that he wasn't interested in joking around with Lee's cartoon representation, and noted that he and his team only wanted to pay tribute to him and his dozens of MCU appearances.

Unfortunately, it was not to be, with Marvel having a strict policy about any unused footage or audio of Stan Lee not being used to construct cameos now that's he's passed away, even in animation. Thankfully, it wasn't too big of a bummer for Al Jean and the folks working on The Simpsons crossover short, as Jean said he could readily admit that it's "a completely understandable policy."

The Simpsons: The Good, The Bart, and The Loki is available to stream right now on Disney+, along with Loki, and 31 seasons of The Simpsons, but if you need more to watch, check out our 2021 summer TV schedule!

If you haven't yet watched The Simpsons' new Star Wars short on Disney+, be warned that details will be shared below.

As one of the most enjoyable displays of corporate cynicism to come out of The Simpsons in a while, Disney+'s newest short Maggie Simpson in "The Force Awakens from Its Nap" packs a smorgasbord of excellent Star Wars sight gags and barbs into its three-minute runtime. But considering everything that was on display, fans probably wondered why The Mandalorian in particular fueled so few of the references, since it was responsible for Force-launching the streaming platform.

As it turns out, there are more or less two big reasons why The Simpsons creative team held back on The Mandalorian moments in The Force Awakens from Its Nap. As showrunner and executive producer Al Jean explained it to CNN, one of the reasons was specifically due to a restriction from Lucasfilm execs. In his words:

Since the short takes place in a Star Wars-centric preschool, one might have thought it to be the perfect opportunity to unleash a hailstorm of Baby Yoda jokes on viewers. But because LucasFilm apparently wants to keep official Grogu appearances to a minimum outside of The Mandalorian (and possibly other upcoming projects), the powerful little bugger didn't even get to make an authentic cameo. Rather, after Maggie was "killed" by BB-8, which imploded Disney's stock value, Maggie was resurrected in the form of Baby Yoda in a clear jab at Disney's overt reliance on the cutesy character as a marketing gold mine.

All hail Maggru! Or would it be Goggie? Baby Magda? Either way it goes, it was a solid elbow-nudge referencing the fact that the Star Wars franchise habitually brings characters back after their death, whether it's through prequels, flashbacks or Force Ghosts. Just look at all those Force Ghosts. Not that The Simpsons is a stranger to such creative decisions, with the currently airing season having reused old dialogue to pay homage to the late Marcia Wallace's Mrs. Krabappel, with the actress having passed away back in 2013.

Beyond Baby Yoda, Maggie Simpsons in The Force Awakens from Its Nap did indeed plan to feature another big reference to The Mandalorian, but it was eventually cut out of the final product. Here's Al Jean's explanation on that.

One could say there are plenty of brief moments in the Simpsons short that aren't necessarily pertinent to Maggie Vs. BB-8, so I'm not convinced that the joke wouldn't have worked anyway. But it's understandable why they'd want to leave out a pick-up scene, since that would probably have undercut the Baby Yoda-esque ending. Although I would have taken a post-credits moment of Mando as the only parent left in the parking lot, honking the horn on the (now-destroyed) Razor Crest.

Though it's a shame that The Simpsons' latest short is so...short...but fans can take comfort in knowing more are definitely on the way, with James L. Brooks having revealed in January that the show struck a new deal with Disney to produce a variety of animated shorts that tie into some of the company's mega-franchises. So yes, we're gonna get some presumably glorious Simpsons MCU bits, so let's hope they bring some guest voices to some of these rather than keeping to mostly dialogue-free Maggie adventures.

As a show that has been on the air for more than 30 years, The Simpsons is noteworthy for maintaining its core cast for that entire stretch. Not that the entire ensemble has stuck around, with several actors and actresses having sadly passed away over the decades (while certain characters have been sidelined for other reasons). One such treasured Simpsons vet was Marcia Wallace, who memorably voiced the constantly put-upon teacher Mrs. Edna Krabappel before her death in 2013. While The Simpsons hadn't ever found a way to bid the classic character a proper tribute during that season, the farewell finally came in the Season 32 winter premiere.

Having previously paid homage to Marcia Wallace – who received guest billing in this episode – in the touching chalkboard gag that also appeared in Sunday night's episode, "Dairy Queen," The Simpsons gave Mrs. Krabappel a new chance to shine as Bart's unwitting educational cheerleader. After Bart stumbles upon his former teacher's diary, he read a little too deeply into some of her entries, believing her written kindness to be about him. For what it's worth, that bit of misguided confidence made Bart a better student, as well as a more genial person, but he eventually learned the truth.

In reality, Edna had been writing her loving diary entries about her cat, which Lisa had to show Bart in a most pull-the-bandaid-off kind of way. (Let's all agree it might have been slightly disturbing if she actually had written all that about Bart in particular.) After Bart moped about it while up in his treehouse, he was visited by neighborino Ned Flanders, who shared the touching story in which Marcia Wallace's re-used dialogue could be heard.

At one point, Ned was thinking about packing up and leaving Springfield with Edna. During a family meeting, both Rod and Todd agreed with Ned that it was the right choice to leave Springfield, what with all the scary ladybugs and Homer constant presence. However, Edna was the one who convinced them all to stay with an inspirational argument that she needed to stay in Springfield in order to make a difference in the lives of wayward kids such as Bart Simpson. It was a little too shoehorned to feel like an instant classic heartwarming moment, but the episode worked overall.

The Simpsons' longtime showrunner and executive producer Al Jean spoke with Variety about how the creative team worked the episode out so that Marcia Wallace's dialogue could be used again after all these years. The producers got in touch with the actress' estate and cleared the usage, as well as compensated them for the material. Below, Jean explains exactly why they wanted to honor Mrs. Krabappel with this episode.

As a fan of classic TV that got to know Marcia Wallace's work on The Simpsons around the same time in childhood when I watched her genius at work on The Bob Newhart Show. So what better screenshot from the episode can there be than Edna Krabappel settling in to enjoy Wallace's performance as the aces receptionist Carol.

Even though it's been eight years since the cancer-surviving Marcia Wallace died of pneumonia and sepsis in October 2013, her excellent work can be found across 20+ seasons of The Simpsons and then some. Until we meet again, Mrs. Krabappel.

One of animation's most iconic voices has passed away. Russi Taylor, who voiced notable characters on The Simpsons and served as the iconic voice of Minnie Mouse for over three decades, has died. Taylor passed away Friday at her home in Glendale, California at the age of 75. Since the news of her death, Taylor's life has been celebrated and mourned by friends, family, fans, and even Disney's boss Bob Iger.

Disney released an official statement from Bob Iger, which drove home what a staple she's been to the Disney family. In his words, Minnie Mouse lost her voice with Russi Taylor's passing.

Russi Taylor's gig as Minnie Mouse was significant at the time, as her start in 1986 was the first time since 1974 someone would voice the character. From that point on, Taylor would grow into the staple voice of Minnie, and at her time of death, is the longest running voice actress for the character to date. Taylor's voice acting credits list she's voiced Minnie as recent as this year via episodes of Mickey and the Roadster Racers and Mickey Mouse shorts.

Though she may have been known best as Minnie Mouse, Russi Taylor was also an iconic voice of a very popular (and now Disney-owned) television series, The Simpsons. Taylor voiced the nerdy Martin Prince, and the purple-haired twins Sherri and Terri. Taylor was honored by The Simpsons' executive producer Al Jean on Twitter, and Entertainment Weekly reported the show will honor her in tonight's episode.

Russi Taylor's voice acting career began when she voiced Strawberry Shortcake throughout the '80s. Taylor also voiced Pebbles Flintstone in The Flintstone Comedy Show, Pac-Baby in Pac-Man, and was the voice of Gonzo in the original Muppet Babies. For Disney she was also the original voice of Donald Duck's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and voiced them up until the recent rebooted Ducktales series. Of course, those are just a few of the bullet points on the very long list of characters she's voiced, and there are many more.

Russi Taylor was married to Wayne Allwine, who out of all the others that have come before and after him, remains the longest-running voice of Mickey Mouse. Allwine passed away in 2009 due to complications from diabetes. The two met on the job, and married in 1991. Taylor once said she hoped future voice actors who took the job would be aware of the history of the role, and love Mickey and Minnie as much as they did.

Angry Mom Wants People Without Children Banned From Walt Disney World

We here at CinemaBlend send our condolences to the friends and family of Russi Taylor, and wish them well during this time.

Many shows have come and gone at Fox over the years, but for all the high-profile cancellations, one show has always stuck around. Even if The Simpsons isn't the ratings giant it once was, it still manages to move the needle every once in a while and get longtime and younger fans back on board. As for how the show manages to do that, showrunner Al Jean thinks he knows why.

The times may change, but The Simpsons has done a good job at keeping up with them. The same Bart Simpson who was known for his slingshot back in the day is the same Bart who uses a smartphone in more current episodes. As Al Jean told The Daily Beast, there's not a lot about 2019 or any era that the family can't slide into, which may be why they've lasted throughout the years.

There's also the nostalgia factor as well, which certainly plays into things. There's now children of parents who grew up with The Simpsons who now have children of their own. That's quite a run, and a level of success even those currently launching new shows on television likely don't expect to see. Given that, it does make it easy to believe Al Jean when he says if The Simpsons wasn't currently around, someone would be trying to bring it back.

The interview also brought up one big change in the family that Al Jean admitted was unintentional. When The Simpsons first started, the family's home and lifestyle made them look poor. Now, in 2019, a family living in a house with a wife who doesn't work, three children, and an endless vacation budget seems rather luxurious. Jean admitted the Simpson family's lives probably won't change to reflect that, but they will still continue to adapt and react to the world.

The Simpsons airs on Fox Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET, but those looking to binge the series can find it on quite often most days on FXX in the evenings. For more on the show, read what show producer Mike Reiss had to say about recently deceased actor Luke Perry's guest spot.

When The Simpsons first turned pop culture on its head, it caused mild controversy because its rebellious child character said "damn" and "hell." Nearly 30 years later, the animation icon has been facing a more culturally significant backlash surrounding the use of Indian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. After months without confirmed resolutions, it was recently reported that The Simpsons' thinktank was aiming to take Apu off the show altogether. This is when showrunner and longtime executive producer Al Jean spoke up.

Al Jean mentioned Indian-American producer Adi Shankar, one of the names behind Dredd and Netflix's Castlevania TV series, among other projects. Shankar is the one who claimed that multiple sources confirmed to him that The Simpsons was excising Apu altogether. Usually, this would be a point where fans could start assuming that Shankar was misinformed, but Jean's tweet doesn't exactly deny anything. Nor does it lay Shankar out to be particularly untrustworthy. It just says that Shankar isn't a Simpsons spokesman.

The first part of Al Jean's tweet seemed to be a jab at publications that erroneously referred to Adi Shankar as a producer for The Simpsons, which made him seem to be a lot more in the know than he actually was. Again, considering Jean didn't outright refute Shankar's claims, it's interesting he addressed it on Twitter at all. Even if it was only to make that correction, it was a timely choice.

Also interesting, and perhaps to be expected, is that Adi Shankar added his voice to the dozens who commented on Al Jean's post, in a calm way that set him apart from others. In his words:

At this point, it's anybody's guess what will happen next. Al Jean could soon respond, the two could meet, and the Apu situation could work out amazingly well for all involved. Or, more likely, something else will happen.

Without getting overly speculative or anything, could it be possible that The Simpsons is indeed getting rid of Apu (even from background shots), and that Al Jean only meant to dismiss a particular portion of Adi Shankar's claims about it? If anyone is going to adhere to written semantics, after all, it's probably going to be a TV writer. Here's how Shankar specifically said things:

If The Simpsons is planning on permanently writing Apu off of the show, it's not out of the question that Al Jean took umbrage with the claim that it wouldn't be a big deal, and/or that it would be done just to avoid the angry fans. It's possible there will be a gigantic celebratory send-off. Or, knowing how The Simpsons works, they might introduce five alternate-universe versions of Apu as regular characters who never leave.

Adi Shankar joined the already ongoing conversation about Apu by launching a submission-based contest to find the perfect spec script to fix the "Apu problem," a phrase taken from comedian Hari Kondabolu's influential documentary The Problem with Apu. That documentary pulled together and solidified viewpoints than many have voiced over the years about how strong a role Apu has had in strengthening negative Indian stereotypes in pop culture. Efforts by Shankar and others have kept those talks going, with the eventual goal being a permanent change on The Simpsons itself.

Al Jean's tweet marks the latest in relatively few instances where Simpsons cast and crew members have publicly addressed the conversational backlash that has risen around Apu. (Even South Park took shots at the longtime Fox hit over it on a recent episode.) Following one episode's open-ended (and widely derided) response to those asking for changes to be made, co-creator Matt Groening responded to the pushback by saying that people love to get offended. But he'd also defended the character's placement to the New York Times, though he also admitted there wasn't a proper way to approach it anymore.

Of course, longtime Simpsons writer Mike Reiss pointed out in May that the show technically hasn't given Apu more than a handful of lines in the past handful of seasons. (Something that Matt Groening echoed in his interview.) He'd addressed to Vanity Fair that the writers were already aware of growing concerns about Apu since before Hari Kondabolu's documentary was announced.

Meanwhile, Apu voice actor Hank Azaria has been more cautious, making it clear that he isn't trying to offend anyone, while also refraining from speaking negatively about a beloved character he's played for over half of his life. He did say that if the character does remain a part of Springfield's elite, he'd love to see an actor from South Asia take over the voice work.

While the actual show likely isn't going to team up with Adi Shankar in the immediate future, the producer is moving forward with the winning contribution form his spec script contest. (It was sent in by Maryland doctor Vishaal Buch.) Shankar will be producing the short through his Bootleg Universe branding on YouTube, where he's released other viral content like the super-violent short films centered on the Power Rangers and The Punisher.

The Simpsons airs Sunday nights on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what new and returning shows are on the way soon, head to our fall TV premiere schedule.

TV history was made this weekend, as The Simpsons premiered its groundbreaking thirtieth season on Fox. It's likely that not everyone watching could be considered a superfan, so many likely missed how the episode provided a winking reference to a longtime fan theory concerning the long-hidden "Dead Bart" episode. It wasn't so much an on screen gag, though, but rather the title itself. Here's how showrunner Al Jean put it.

The Simpsons has always had a lot of fun in having conversations with its fans through the show's humor (and we're still waiting on a real answer for how many times Homer has actually seen someone say goodbye to a shoe). And here, Al Jean and the creative team went with a send up of the "Dead Bart" creepypasta entry, which is perhaps the most bizarre Simpsons fan theory out there, in that it's not so much about the characters or the canon, but rather an alleged "lost episode" that was immediately shelved after animation due to its horrific imagery and subject matter. (Insert joke here about how that should have happened with any number of episodes over the past 15 years.)

Per the patently conspiratorial materials offering background on this story, the episode "Dead Bart" was written by Matt Groening during production on Season 1, at a point when the co-creator was supposedly acting very withdrawn and angry. The episode, whose production code was said to have been given to another Season 1 installment, had a plot that started off with the Simpson family taking a doomed plane ride. Not long into the flight, Bart gets sucked out of a window. It's then stated that a near-realistic image of Bart's corpse was shown, in the vein of Ren & Stimpy's more grotesque animation. (Or this Homer recreation.)

Things stayed dark and depressing from there, with the family visiting the grave, along with lots of weird visuals. Perhaps even more infamous than Bart's death shot are the alleged last moments that depict the tombstones and death dates for every Simpsons guest star, present and future. It somehow sounds darker than even the Six Feet Under spoof.

Granted, the episode "Bart's Not Dead" doesn't do a whole lot to directly contest the validity of the lost episode fan theories, although I guess it does involve Bart presenting a scenario that isn't real, and then someone bringing that scenario to a visual format. In the episode, Bart ends up in the hospital, and tells his parents that he met Jesus while unconscious, which sparks a faith-based movie adaptation. Not exactly the same, but we're pretty sure Bart would be capable of mashing together episode footage to create the video below, which stands alone as "proof" of the "Dead Bart" installment.

As it has happened with most Simpsons fan theories that stretch believability to its breaking point, Al Jean debunked this "Dead Bart" episode ridiculousness some years back. So it has kept good company with other crazy Simpsons ideas, such as Homer having been in a coma for the past 30 years, or that Springfield actually exists on another plane of reality.

The Simpsons Season 30 is here, and fans can find it airing on Fox every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. ET. For those who need other shows that may or may not have ridiculous fan theories attached to them, head to our fall TV premiere schedule.

We all know that The Simpsons will likely outlive both cockroaches and the entire universe, but it's always possible that the creative team will one day soon decide to bring the long-running animated comedy to an end. If it does, showrunner Al Jean has a pretty brilliant idea for how to wrap up the final episode, though we likely won't ever get to see it happening. Here's the pitch and reason why it won't go down.

Al Jean shared those thoughts during The Simpsons' panel at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, which was promoting the upcoming Season 30 milestone. It was actually a fan who posed the question about how the show could eventually bow out, and Jean rewarded that fan with a perfectly Simpsons-esque answer that could really only work properly for an animated series. There's no way Bonanza, the longest running scripted series behind The Simpsons, could have wrapped up its finale by jumping back to one or any moments from the first episode, since few people can actually look the exact same for 30 years at a time. Except for Paul Rudd, that is.

In any case, the circular nature of Al Jean's proposed ending is suited to The Simpsons'style and sensibilities. To whisk the series finale back around to the the early years of the series; premiere would sorta create a gigantic narrative loop, in which the show's largely timeless factor could just consume itself accordingly. Every single episode here is basically the same thing, in that they're all standalone stories that all start off by rewinding or reversing anything that had happened in other episodes. (Exceptions do exist, such as Maude Flanders' death, but they're few and far between.) But none of that matters, really, since Al Jean's public admission of said ending has rendered it unusable in Jean's mind. I can't imagine David Chase would have still used The Sopranos' quieted ending had he already told everyone about it.

So without this wraparound idea available to use in the future, you can bet that Jean & Co. will have something pretty ridiculous and over the top set up for the series finale, whenever that may get here. Perhaps every single character will get killed off in a nuclear explosion involving the power plant. Or maybe the entire series will be revealed as a day dream Ralph Wiggum is having instead of doing his math work. The possibilities are nearly endless, much like The Simpsons itself.

Before any of that, though, we still have to watch the entirety of Season 30, and it was also announced during Comic-Con that Season 30 will feature guest stars such as Tracy Morgan, J.K. Simmons, Patti LaPone, Emily Deschanel, Dave Attel, Ted Savandos, Guillermo del Toro, Pete Holmes,, and Jon Lovitz. Plus, Marge and Homer take on The Amazing Race, and Jurassic World's dinos are coming to the "Treehouse of Horror" episode. I can't wait.

Since The Simpsons already spoofed the iconic ending from Six Feet Under _for a recent couch gag, that option sadly isn't on the table anymore. So maybe they'll go for something like _The Sopranos, since Homer looooves to eat. In any case, The Simpsons Season 30 will be making its debut on Sunday, September 30, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what other new and returning shows are coming in the future, head to our summer premiere schedule.

Homer Simpson has had every type of job under the sun. Name one, there's a serious chance Homer has done it, from astronaut to food critic, but one of his most memorable non-nuclear plant gigs was his time as a baseball player. Early in the run of The Simpsons, Homer and his hard head led to a baseball championship in one of the long-running (and still popular) show's most memorable episodes, "Homer at the Bat." Major League Baseball finally recognized his achievements, officially inducting him into the Baseball Hall of Fame over the weekend. Watch his induction "ceremony" below.

Homer Simpson's contributions to baseball were cemented by the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on Saturday, in commemoration for the 25th anniversary of The Simpsons' "Homer at the Bat." The episode, which originally aired in February 1992, saw Homer play on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's softball team. In order to win a lucrative bet, Mr. Burns replaces everyone on the team with professional MLB players such as Ozzie Smith, Ken Griffey Jr., Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly and Jose Canseco -- all of whom guest-starred in the episode. However, Homer got to play in the championship game, getting knocked unconscious by a pitch in the final at bat, thus forcing in the winning run.

Now, 25 years later, Homer is getting some real validation for his sacrifice. Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs and Steve Sax were on hand to welcome Homer into the great Hall. The Simpsons' showrunner Al Jean shared photos on Twitter of a Homer mascot enjoying the spotlight, about to demonstrate his "HOB HBP skills." That had to be a unique honor for Jean to take part in.

Homer will be getting his very own plaque that will hang in the museum in a special Simpson exhibit. The plague, which was read in the video, highlights some of the greatest achievements of his career in baseball. Not only does it mention how he "sacrificed his body" for the city championship, but it also references his time as the Isotopes mascot Dancing Homer. You can read the plaque in full for yourself in the official tweet below.

Just another achievement to be added to The Simpsons long list of achievements. How many other cartoon series could possibly hope to be inducted into a Hall of Fame? Now if only the NBA would just recognize the sportsmanship of Space Jam.

The Simpsons just recently wrapped up its 28th season (!) on Fox. For everything on The Simpsons and TV, make sure to keep it right here at CinemaBlend. To plan the rest of your TV viewing, check out our summer TV premiere schedule.

Over the years -- and we're talking almost three decades -- The Simpsons has been uncannily prescient when it comes to real world events and situations, from a three-eyed fish being found in waters near a nuclear plant (in Argentina) to Donald Trump being President of the United States. And more are certain to come, given how many instances of altered reality the show has put out there. During a conference call with Simpsons showrunner Al Jean, who was promoting this weekend's episode, I asked if there were any future predictions he actually wanted to come true. In his words:

If you thought or wished Al Jean was going to say that he wanted there to be a real life Whacking Day for snakes, that already kind of happened with Florida's Python Challenge. Plus, I don't think the longtime Simpsons vet has any particular inclinations to harm animals. Jean seems to care an awful lot about one particular animal, though: humans. Otherwise, why would he bring up such magnificent things such as widespread joy and world peace? Okay, so he was quite possibly just lobbing an amusing slice of hyperbole out at me instead of picking anything legitimate. Either way, I don't think he'd be pissed if some real-life infant named Maggie inexplicably ushered in an era of rainbows and global harmony.

The episode Al Jean was referring to is "Gone Maggie Gone," which was part of the then-monumental Season 20. In it, Lisa enters a puzzle-filled adventure that takes her from a convent to Philadelphia and back to the giant Springfield sign, and it's revealed that Maggie is the gem child, who can be used to unlock a far more colorful and happy Springfield (and perhaps beyond). This is the kind of utopia where oil and water can get along, and baseball players and umpires really get along. Of course, Marge isn't willing to give up her youngest child for the sake of everyone else's magnificence. C'est la vie.

That wasn't the only prediction Al Jean offered up, either. Here's what else he told me.

Strangely, this option is even harder to conceive than Earth entering full-on bliss at any point before our sun goes kaput. Although, to that end, when The Simpsons threw Donald Trump's name in as being President one day, that also seemed like one of the more unlikely things that could ever happen. So, I guess now would be the time to start up a political campaign for anyone named Lisa Simpson. And like Bill Clinton showed us in the past, being able to play the saxophone doesn't hurt.

Don't forget to tune into The Simpsons on Fox this Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. ET for the episode "Caper Chase," which sees Mr. Burns founding his own for-profit college (like a certain POTUS), and features a full squad of brainy guest stars that includes Jason Alexander, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Suze Orman, Robert McKee and Ken Jennings. If you want to see more of The Simpsons' strange powers, check out some of its most prophetic blackboard gags, and then hunt down what's coming to television in the coming months with our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide.

The Simpsons is about to make history with its 600th TV episode, which airs on Fox on Sunday night. However, while the show has become an institution for the network, things haven't always been so certain for The Simpsons. In fact, according to Simpsons executive producer Al Jean, there were two memorable moments when he thought the animated series was going to get cancelled. And one of them happened more recently than you might guess. In fact, Al Jean had this to say about the 2011-2012 TV season:

If you haven't been keeping up with The Simpsons or its ratings in recent years, this story is kind-of crazy. While the show hasn't been a huge ratings-bringer in recent history, right now it's one of Fox's best performers---sometimes the best performer---on Sunday nights. If we know one thing about the ratings right now, it's that steady is the new increasing, as fewer and fewer people watch TV live. However, the problem with The Simpsons five years ago, as Al Jean reported to the Wall Street Journal, was the budget and not the ratings. Shows get more expensive to produce over time, and the only reason The Simpsons would be able to make money is if the show can make more money on advertisements than it costs to produce each episode. Thank Sunday Funday and a huge budget cut for keeping the show around.

The other time Al Jean thought The Simpsons was going to be cancelled happened far earlier in the show's run. Actually, it happened before critics even caught an episode. There was a ton of scrambling after the first episode didn't turn out so well. It took a few more months of work before the final product even made the grade. Said Jean:

It's interesting that The Simpsons eventually started on a Christmas episode and that the creative team wanted to end on another holiday episode back in Season 23. There some nice circular symmetry to that, and maybe eventually the series will end on a Christmas episode. As for "Holidays of Future Passed, " the episode that was very nearly the end aired in December of 2011, making it Episode 495. If Fox had given the show the axe after that episode, we would never have seen the 500th episode of the series, much less the 600th episode. "Treehouse of Horror XXVII" will be a very special episode of the long-running comedy, indeed and hopefully there's more exciting territory the show has yet to cover.

Catch the 600th episode of The Simpsons on Sunday, October 16 at 8 p.m. ET. And find out when the rest of your favorite shows are hitting the schedule with our fall TV premiere schedule.

Fox entered the modern arena of live primetime television in a big way with Grease: Live in late January and will carry on with Tyler Perry’s live Jesus musical at the end of March. Now, news has come out that Fox is trying for something even more ambitious - although decidedly less musical - with live television. An animated episode of The Simpsons will end with three minutes of live footage.

Simpsons executive producer Al Jean teased the exciting and somewhat bizarre news on his Twitter account earlier today. The episode will hit the small screen on May 15 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, and both the East Coast and the West Coast airings will feature differing live animated scenes. Marge, Lisa, and Bart will turn over the show to Homer, who will take questions and deliver answers straight to the audience live.

Over its 27 seasons so far, The Simpsons has seemed to achieve the impossible with bringing animated television into the mainstream using a plethora of various techniques, but live animation feels inconceivable even for the Fox juggernaut. As it turns out, however, the team at The Simpsons have a plan in place to turn the May 15 episode of the show into something unforgettable in the best way.

According to Al Jean, in a chat with The Wrap, the final minutes of the episode will use motion capture technology to animate master improviser and voice actor Dan Castellaneta in real time. Considering that Castellaneta has been bringing the laughs as Homer since 1989, we can be sure that he’ll be pulling his weight in the Simpsons' first go at live TV.

Of course, Dan Castellaneta can’t possibly pull off a successful few minutes of live animation all alone, and so The Simpsons will be drawing on the proven motion capture techniques developed by Fox Sports in order to bring Homer to life. Early tests have shown that the motion capture can work well with the animation style of The Simpsons, and there’s almost definitely enough time between February and mid-May for any and all kinks in the process to be worked out.

Possibly even more exciting for fans than the idea of live footage is that they will have the opportunity to get involved in the episode. Starting on May 1 and running until May 4, viewers will be able to tweet questions to be answered during the May 15 installment with the hashtag of #HomerLive. While the early deadline may seem a bit suspicious given Al Jean’s promise that the three minutes will be 100% live, the reality is that the team at The Simpsons will need time to obtain the proper permission from tweeters. In fact, Jean has teased that a few clues will be included in the broadcast to tip viewers off that Homer’s comments couldn’t have possibly been pre-recorded.

Sadly, we still have quite a wait ahead of us before we get to see Dan Castellaneta tackle the role of Homer Simpson live on air, but at least knowing that The Simpsons will continue working to keep things fresh even in Season 27 makes watching in the meantime a more appealing prospect.

Even though there are tons of shows coming out and in development that are rebooting or continuing previous TV series, not all of them are the most sensible ideas. But in news that definitely does NOT stink, apparently there are conversations happening that could eventually lead to the return of one of the greatest animated series that ever existed: The Critic.

The movie-skewering series that gave the world what was arguably Jon Lovitz’s most enjoyable role, The Critic was the sidebar creation of The Simpsons’ writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, with James L. Brooks serving as an executive producer. And it was Jean, the current Simpsons showrunner, that dropped the bomb that we may one day see Jay Sherman shitting on Hollywood blockbusters again.

Pardon us for a second while we celebrate in style.

Jean appeared on The Kevin Klein Live morning show on Live 105 in San Francisco about a month after Jon Lovitz had appeared and assured the world that he would absolutely be down to return to The Critic. And while I’m sure Klein expected some positivity from Jean about The Critic having a future, I’m not sure he thought he’d hear that the first tiny step in the process was being taken. And there HAVE to be showrunners out there that would be willing to jump at this project, even if Jean and Reiss are only attached to it from a distance.

The Critic premiered on ABC in 1994 and was canceled after 13 episodes, though Fox saved it for another 10-episode run and then also canceled it. (UPN was in talks to revive it soon after, but that fell through.) Its fanbase has grown over the years, thanks to DVD sales and repeats on other networks, and many have clamored for its return, especially since Hollywood is a far different place than it was when the show first aired. I would love to see Jay taking on the Transformers franchise and Marvel movies, as well as the world of indie cinema. Here’s an idea of what we could expect if it happened.

We’re likely still many months away before any new news will break on a possible Critic revival, but knowing that Fox is down for returning to its own library for shows – see The X-Files – our Shermometer of optimism is notably high.

Of all the ways that the Internet has made life more amazing, bizarre fan theories-gone-viral continue to add extraneous intrigue to our favorite slices of pop culture. From the mind-numbing to the adorable, we’ll take them all. But it looks like a recent theory about The Simpsons, in which the majority of the show’s run is all Homer Simpson’s dream, has been shot down by showrunner Al Jean. That’s good news for Moe’s and Duff, at least.

A clever Reddit user posted his thought-provoking ideas earlier this month in the Fan Theories forum, proposing that Homer never woke up from the vending machine-related coma that he fell into for the Season 4 episode “So It’s Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show.” As such, the show’s increasingly surreal nature can be attributed to everything being a figment of Homer’s imagination. We’ll get into some specifics in a bit, but first we’ll let Al Jean shoot it all down.

Jean spoke with TMZ about the issue, and he said it’s all a bunch of hooey.

Of course, it’s hard to actually believe that something as ridiculous as a “the character was dreaming the whole time” explanation would ever really hold water in a modern TV show. Sure, Bob Newhart did it with Newhart, but that was a gag unto itself and not one that shows every really try to emulate on the large scale, though sometimes series use singular episodes as full-length dream sequences; and those are almost always the worst episodes. Don’t get me started with Lost theories, either.

In this case of this theory, though, there are several good (faux) clues backing it up. For one, the coma episode came six months after “Homer the Heretic,” in which God implies that Homer will die in six months. Another factor involves how off the rails the Simpsons’ storylines got after “So It’s Come to This,” and that this can all be explained by Homer’s imagination just running wild. It also sorta explains why no one ever ages, why the show’s flashbacks and continuity can get muddled, and why there are so many celebrities involved in Springfield citizens’ lives. I mean, all of that is really explained with “Because it’s a cartoon,” but you know what I mean.

Incidentally, the origin of that fake “Dead Bart” episode is a fascinatingly disturbing read. I’m working on my own theory about how Twins was just an acid flashback for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Frank Reynolds.

When The Simpsons Movie hit theaters in 2007, it not only became a box office win, but it also managed to win over people who had turned against the show in years previous. The question remains as to whether or not the proposed sequel will ever exist, or how enjoyable it would be, but showrunner Al Jean revealed that a recent episode was actually in the running to become the plot for a follow-up film.

As you might have guessed, he’s referring to the wildly off-kilter “The Man Who Came to be Dinner,” which aired on January 4, and had the Simpson family taken by Kang and Kodos – in an arguably misguided non-“Treehouse of Horror” appearance – into outer space and to their home planet. According to Jean, who spoke with EW about the episode’s history, it was supposed to be the Season 24 finale, which aired back in 2013, but discussions about expanding the sci-fi-heavy plot into a second feature made them hold off on airing it until now. Here’s how he explained things.

I’m not really sure how it stays in tune with being canon by appearing as an episode, but okay. It’s not like the aliens’ Men in Black-like memory erasing intentions are any more real, I guess. While the episode had a couple of cool jokes, it felt like a half-cooked effort that I would really like to have seen turned into a something lengthier, with a more critical filter put into the jokes. I guess that’s really just a veiled yearning for another season of Futurama.

To be expected, Jean was asked about how likely a sequel still is, despite that particular idea being scrapped. And his answer was equally expected.

The Simpsons has been pulling out all kinds of stops recently, with their crossover episodes, the Judd Apatow episode resurrection, and killing off Krusty’s dad, among other things. I guess it’s no surprise that Homer ended up watching the extremely fruitful birth of Rigel 7 aliens at some point this season. But are we better off having seen it on the small screen?

This poll is no longer available.

There were a lot of great bits that happened during the Simpsons/Futurama crossover this past Sunday, and the creative team waited until almost the very end to drop one of the wackiest reveals in the show’s history: the one-eyed aliens Kang and Kodos are actually a lesbian couple with the last name of Johnson. That’s a far more unpredictable character outcome than their big death episode to kick this season off, and executive producer Al Jean actually confirmed it as a reality, in as much as anything that happens in The Simpsons’ universe can be considered reality.

Here’s how the unceremonious admission happened: Futurama’s Emperor Lrrr and his wife get into a small tiff, and when Lrrr invites the female member of Kang and Kodos to go and comfort her, they both heed his request. It was a great little moment, but one that didn’t seem likely to get explained in full at a later date. Luckily, Al Jean shared the grand explanation behind the scene with EW, and you can read it below.

Which one of them got on their knee-tentacle though? The term “lesbian couple” is probably a different thing entirely when its two female members of a different alien species being together, but it’s still a nice piece of character biography. Who cares if they both have deeper voices than I ever will?

This isn’t the first time that Kang and Kodos have been a part of something lackadaisically progressive, either. Back in “Treehouse of Horror VII,” Kang was voted for President after being unabashedly honest about voting for third party candidates. Check it out in the clip below.

While we probably won’t be able to go too deeply into the personal lives of Kang and Kodos in the future, Jean also reveals that the alien lovers – it’s gonna take some getting used to that – will indeed be the focus of a future episode. January will see The Simpsons heading to Kang and Kodos’ home planet. I can’t wait!

Al Jean has been with The Simpsons for as long as the animated comedy has been around, signing on as one of the show’s first writers in 1989. In the years since, he’s also served as an executive producer and showrunner on the series. If anyone has the experience and the background to write the eventual ending to The Simpsons, it’s Al Jean. The man recently spoke out to give us the ending he hopes Fox’s animated series will have.

In terms of an ending, Jean says he really hopes The Simpsons will have a circular narrative. His ideal situation involves harkening back to the very first episode of the series that aired in 1989, which happens to be the Christmas special “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire.” Here’s what The Simpsons showrunner had to say.

Obviously, that ending isn’t written in stone, but now that it’s out there it seems kind of perfect, a callback reference within a show filled with the same sorts of references and gags. Jean goes on to tell CNN that obviously The Simpsons is as alive and thriving in Season 25 as it was early in its run and he doesn’t think the show is going anywhere, anytime soon.

So, don’t expect The Simpsons to figure out its ending, anytime soon. The animated comedy, in fact, is having an incredible year, signing on for a gig at the Hollywood Bowl and crushing a marathon on FX. Today, the show is launching The Simpsons World, a new and interactive website that opens fans up to a slew of Simpsons episodes, clips and more. The app is available through your cable provider, with FXNOW promising the series will be searchable by specific lines of dialogue by January of 2015.

In some ways, The Simpsons is bigger than ever, but it's still nice that those who have been involved with the series for its entire run have a clear picture in their heads about where the show is going. We don't know if The Simpsons will actually receive the ending Jean hopes it will, but in my mind that's already how it has ended.

“Springfield, Springfield, it's a hell of a town! The schoolyard's up and the shopping mall's down...”

?There appears to be some confusion over the recent revelation regarding the town in which the Simpsons reside. For years, people have wondered where The Simpsons’ Springfield was. Given the number of years the Fox animated comedy has been on the air, and the numerous Springfields across the U.S., it’s not surprising that people would want to debate the whereabouts of the town. In a recent interview with Smithsonian.com, series creator Matt Groening spoke about Springfield, stating:

?Apparently, the emphasis there should be that Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon.

TV Guide quotes Groening as saying:

In addition to the nod to Citizen Kane, he makes a fair point. He doesn't exactly say that the town is set in Oregon.

Executive producer Al Jean told TV Guide that Groening’s comment was misinterpreted and then repeated, going on to say that Springfield is really an every town...

So it seems we must accept (at least for now) that Springfield’s true location is Fox, and in the hearts and minds of fans who’ve stuck by the series over the last couple of decades...

What we do know about Springfield?

?“...It’s a hell of a town!....”

The Simpsons has stepped even closer beating out Lassie and Gunsmoke as the longest-running TV show in history, getting a renewal from Fox today that will bring it past its 500th episode. According to Vulture the order for a 23rd season will keep the show on the air through February 2012 (they have a long lead time before animation takes forever), and at least up to episode 515. According to showrunner Al Jean, "We'll actually have enough episodes to go into a 24th season," which would bring them very close to the nice round number of a 25th season

Not only is The Simpsons continuing to show a pretty stunning longevity, it's one of Fox's biggest hits at the moment, bringing in around 8.5 million viewers weekly. And despite the fact that everyone thinks the show's best years are behind it, they still manage to factor into the pop culture zeitgeist pretty regularly, most recently with the shocking, Banksy-directed opening credits sequence. Jean teased Vulture that they're working on another sequence that might even top Banksy's, or at least "surprise people a great deal." At the very least we can look forward to the first-ever broadcast airing of The Simpsons Movie on Thanksgiving night-- and then many more episodes of the show through 2012, and most likely beyond.