What we know so far about The Simpsons season 33

As The Simpsons season 33 will be rolling in on September 26th, we’ve seen some exciting sneak peeks and what’s to come for Springfield’s funniest family.

Here’s what we know about the upcoming season so far:

The Simpsons season 33: The season premiere will be one big musical number

The Simpsons are no strangers when it comes to singing and dancing numbers in their episodes.  Over the course of its decades-long run (and still going!), there have been some memorable moments where characters dropped a song or two to make the storyline even more hilarious and fun.

In season 12’s “New Kids on the Blecch” superstar boyband NSYNC provided the singing voices of Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, and Ralph as they were manufactured into pop sensations The Party Posse by the US Navy.  Or how about the season 11 finale, “Behind the Laughter,” a parody episode of VH1’s docuseries, Behind the Music?  Country legend Willie Nelson made an appearance in that one.

In the season 33 opener, titled, “The Star of the Backstage,” Marge Simpson is feeling nostalgic about her stage manager days in high school twenty years ago.  She wants to recreate her high school play, Y2K: The Millenium Bug, but Marge’s memories may not have been as vibrant due to an unfortunate visit from her high school rival.

Executive producer, Matt Selman shared with Entertainment Weekly about the premiere:

"“The most musical episode we’ve ever done. Almost wall-to-wall music. It’s like a Broadway musical of an episode with all original songs.”"

Kirsten Bell will be returning as a guest star to provide Marge’s singing voice.  Not that Marge’s own voice is unique but in her mind, she pictures it as “different” and “beautiful”.  As the series as a whole is one big satire, the episode is a spin on the Disney+ series, Encore, which Kirsten Bell hosts.

Elisabeth Kiernan Averick wrote “The Star of the Backstage” and Jack Dolgen composed its music.

The Simpsons season 33: Even more Treehouse of Horror fun

For the first time, the Halloween Treehouse of Horror trilogy will have five segments instead of the traditional three.

At San Diego Comic-Con, showrunner Al Jean gave the fans a tease of the Treehouse of Horror 32 opener that has a Vincent Price caricature reciting A Telltale Bart (a spoof of The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe) and features some gothic artwork in the style of illustrator Edward Gorey.

The segment is included in the panel.

Jean also revealed in the later episodes that Moe will have a longer-than-normal love interest and Homer will undergo a great tragedy with guest star Rachel Bloom.   And finally, there will be another two-part episode (the fourth one!) entitled “A Serious Flanders” that will be a mashup of streaming services, crime dramas, and Fargo.  Guest stars Timothy Olyphant, Cristin Milioti, and Brian Cox have been lined up.

The Simpsons season 33: A possible ending?

The series has ruled television for more than three decades, but what would happen if The Simpsons ever did end?  Selman said that putting together the final episode would be a “huge pressure” and the creative team hasn’t thought that far ahead.  However, Jean said that the ending could loop back to the very first episode from 1989.

Are you excited about season 33 and what’s to come?  How would you feel if Disney ever pulled its plug?  Let us know in the comments.