Disney’s Simpsons Season 36 Release Plan Risks Alienating Its Most Loyal Fans

Summary

• Season 36 of
  The Simpsons
  brings exclusive episodes to Disney+, potentially leaving longtime fans feeling left out.
• Disney’s Control Over
  The Simpsons
  could increase as four episodes of season 36 will only be available on the streaming service.
• The move to Disney+ could potentially alienate fans who have watched
  The Simpsons
  on TV since its debut in 1989.

While The Simpsons It’s been on the air for quite some time, but season 36 of the animated comedy series still threatens to alienate fans with one big change. The Simpsons sometimes they seem too big to fail. Sure, The Simpsons has undoubtedly lost much of the critical acclaim and cultural relevance it had maintained during its so-called Golden Age in the 1990s. However, the sheer longevity of The Simpsons means the show has become a mainstay of pop culture. It’s hard to imagine a world without The Simpsons even though the show’s relevance peaked decades ago, at this stage.

As, The Simpsons Season 36 looks set to be a success. If the show fails to do anything new, it will still remain a part of TV history. If Season 36 tries something new, like Seasons 34 and 35, the show will be rewarded with better reviews and critics proclaiming that The Simpsons is finally good again. The show can now address thorny issues like why the Simpsons never ages, since the series has been around long enough to poke fun at its own inconsistencies without seeming solipsistic. That said, not all new ideas are good.

The Simpsons Season 36 Will Have Exclusive Episodes on Disney+

The Simpsons Are Releasing New Episodes Directly to the Streaming Service

In a divisive move, The Simpsons Season 36 will contain four episodes exclusive to the Disney+ streaming service. The Simpsons the two-part season 36 Christmas special “O C’mon All Ye Faithful”, a parody of The White Lotusand an episode titled “The Past and the Furious” will all be released on the streaming service rather than airing on Fox. A Halloween-themed short will also be released during season 36, though this is more in line with the show’s previous Disney+ exclusives. So far, The Simpsons have only released non-canon shorts on Disney’s streaming service, rather than new, full-length, unreleased episodes.

In season 36, that approach will change, as this quartet of episodes will hit the streaming service later this year. The Simpsons Season 36’s Christmas special is probably the most exciting of these titles, as it’s the show’s first two-part episode since 2021 and its first holiday release in three years. However, both The Simpsons Season 36 White Lotus parody and “The Past and the Furious” are also entire episodes of the show that viewers won’t see without a Disney+ subscription. For longtime fans, this might be a bitter pill to swallow.

Exclusive Simpsons episodes on Disney+ are unfair to longtime Fox viewers

Disney+ Exclusive Episodes Restrict Who Can Watch The Simpsons

Since the first launch of Disney+, The Simpsons was one of the brands that was used to promote the service. To this end, The Simpsons have starred in exclusive short films parodying the Star Wars universe and met MCU characters in outings like “The Good, The Bart, and The Loki.” However, these were all short films that, while entertaining, were not part of the show’s canon. Now, spectators who watched The Simpsons on television since 1989 they risk losing the new episodes just because they didn’t pay for a subscription service. So, this move could be interpreted as an insult.

The revelation that viewers must pay a subscription to watch new episodes of a series that is still airing on TV may upset viewers.

Fans having fun The Simpsons but are not interested in paying for Disney content more broadly may find this development troubling. Until recently, The Simpsons Season 36’s numerous retcons seemed to be the most controversial aspect of the upcoming release. Now, this news has complicated that perception. The revelation that viewers must pay for a subscription service to watch new episodes of a show that’s still airing on TV could grate on viewers, especially when many of the show’s longtime fans aren’t necessarily interested in Disney more broadly.

Could The Simpsons Be Moving More and More to Disney+?

Disney+ Acquiring The Simpsons Is Not a Good Idea

The Simpsons Season 36 is not exclusive to Disney+and it would be unfair to say that the streaming service is trying to steal the brand’s offerings. However, The Simpsons It was an expensive purchase for Disney. Although the show’s ratings have fallen from its all-time peak, The Simpsons remains an incredibly popular intellectual property. The Simpsons Season 36’s gimmicks may convince more viewers to tune into the series as it airs on TV, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the long-term plan was to move the entire series to Disney+.

It would make sense for the streaming service to increasingly rely on one of the most influential and popular television shows of all time.

After all, releasing four full episodes exclusively on Disney+ is a pretty strong statement of intent. The studio that owns The Simpsons clearly not worried about alienating fans who were used to watching the series on television. Since Disney+ needs more than Star Wars and the MCU to attract new subscribers, it would make sense for the streaming service to increasingly rely on one of the most influential and popular TV shows of all time. So, The Simpsons could one day become a Disney+ exclusive.