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Louise Thomas
Editor
The Simpsons left fans extremely worried after the surprise airing of its “final” episode– but there was a big twist.
Viewers were left somewhat startled as the long-running animated series’s 36th season, which has bizarrely predicted real-life events for more than three decades, was launched with an episode branded its “series finale”.
However, despite some confusion among viewers, the episode was actually a parody of what makes an effective finale, and imagined what the perfect ending of The Simpsons would look like – as written by AI.
Throughout the episode, there were animated recreations of final shots of shows including The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and Succession.
But when the title card first appeared on screen announcing the premiere as the “series finale”, viewers quickly jumped to social media to share their surprise at what they believed to have been a well-kept secret.
“IS THIS ACTUALLY THE SIMPSONS SERIES FINALE????” one asked, with another chiming in: “Wait, it’s like not REALLY The Simpsons Series Finale is it!? WTF!”
An additional viewer wrote on X/Twitter: “ Am I really watching the series finale of The Simpsons? Wtf. I don’t remember that announcement.”
What corroborated this concern was the fact the episode was hosted by an animated version of Conan O’Brien, who said at the start: “It’s such an honour to be with you all for the series finale of The Simpsons... Well, it’s true. Fox has decided to end The Simpsons. This show was such a special part of my early career, so being here means the world to me.”
To mark the fake occasion, O’Brien then introduced what he claimed to be the original cuts of classic Simpsons scenes to have aired since it started in 1989. The episode then offered some clichéd ideas of how The Simpsons could end, including Principal Skinner’s retirement, Moe’s shutting down and the death of Mr Burns.
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The meta premiere arrives amid speculation that the series could be preparing for its actual finale. Many believe that the series has outstayed its welcome, and no longer matches the quality upheld from its so-called golden era – from season three to nine.
One viewer theorised that this belief is what might have influenced writers to kickstart the new season with the finale prank, writing: “I love how 20th Century Fox/Disney responded to people complaining about The Simpsons should end and make a parody of a series finale.”
It’s worth noting that Fox is yet to renew the show for a 37th season.
The Simpsons is available to stream in the UK on Disney+.
