The Simpsons showrunner has teased what fans can expect for the citizens of Springfield when the series returns this fall. In an interview with Deadline, Matt Selman talked about some of the upcoming storylines and guest stars of the long-running Fox animated series, including that the season premiere will focus on Homer (Dan Castellaneta) becoming involved with a conspiracy cabal.
This season will feature two of the show’s popular “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween episodes. The series previously had two Halloween episodes back in Season 27, where one was a traditional “Treehouse of Horror” and one was set in the series’ normal continuity. One of this year’s “Treehouse of Horror” episodes will feature the traditional three-story format, which includes a parody of the anime Death Note. The other one will be a parody of It, which will star Krusty the Clown as Pennywise.
Another episode that will focus on Krusty will be one where he becomes the host of an afternoon talk show. Selman compared Krusty’s talk show to the one hosted by Ellen DeGeneres that ran from 2003 to 2022. This season will also feature an episode that explains how The Simpsons predicts the future. One of the series’ most notable predictions was the 2000 episode “Bart to the Future,” which is set in the future where President Lisa Simpson mentions how Donald Trump was president before her.
One of this season’s guest stars will be Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu playing Lisa’s (Yeardley Smith) boyfriend. Lisa’s future love life was previously explored in Season 6’s “Lisa’s Wedding.” Melissa McCarthy will also guest star in the season. “It’s a really juicy, funny part where she plays a kid who’s Homer’s rival for love from Grandpa,” said Selman. “She plays kind of a quirky kid who has Grandpa’s love and Homer’s like ‘Why does Grandpa like this kid? And why didn’t he like me?'” Selman also described the episode as “very emotional.”
“I’m very excited about Season 34,” said Selman. “You can’t just rest on your laurels. You have to be pushing yourself and challenging yourself and making sure every episode is distinct and emotional and visual and compelling and scary and cinematic. So we do that on like 85% of them. That’s pretty good. I always thought a B+ was a good grade.”
Season 34 of The Simpsons is scheduled to premiere on September 25 on Fox.