The Simpsons Season 36 Premiere Shocks Fans with Series Finale Tease

The Simpsons Season 36 Premiere: A Not So Final Goodbye

The adult-animated sitcom The Simpsons just blew fans away with a series finale tease. While the showrunners have spoken about different episodes at this year’s Comic Con, the season 36 premiere seemed to have indicated that the show was going to end after all. However, that was not the case.

The season premiere included cameos from Conan O’Brien, John Cena, and more, with a narrative structured like a highlight reel. O’Brien mentioned in the episode that the show would end and that a generative AI device known as Hack-GPT would be writing the series finale. However, the end of the episode revealed that it was a fake-out.

Celebrity Cameos and Plot Twists Abound

Beginning with a premiere event hosted by Conan O’Brien, who was a writer on the show in his early years, the episode established that Fox had tried to axe the series multiple times in the past but failed. After a highlight reel of prominent episodes, O’Brien claimed these were intended to end the show.

Centering the plot around Bart supposedly turning 11, the episode details various endings of prominent characters. Homer causes the death of Mr. Burns, who leaves his fortune to his employees, while Moe closes down his bar. All of these endings also have the age-old trope of a character looking back at their space and switching off the lights.

While Bart struggles to cope with these changes, it is revealed that Homer and Marge have resolved their issues in couple’s counseling and they would be making the house a functional one. As the day inches towards its end with Bart turning eleven, he annoys his father into strangling him again, thus turning things to normal. The AI device blows itself up at the end after O'Brien asks if it can write 800 more episodes for the show.

A Strong Start for Season 36

Despite being a season premiere, The Simpsons gave a great fake-out in a style that is true to the show. Filled with celebrity cameos, topical humor, self-deprecating and referential jokes, and parodies, the season 36 premiere seems to be a strong start to the longest-running sitcom. More episodes with a Venom parody have been teased.

One of the highlights of the episode was the closing credits where scenes from various famous TV series finales were parodied. Prominent shows like Breaking Bad, Lost, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Newhart, and Succession were spoofed by the Fox series.

The Simpsons was also renewed for a 37th season on September 30. The next season will also reportedly include a Treehouse Horror episode, which is aiming to be aired on Halloween 2025. The Simpsons is available to stream on Disney+.