Next month marks 35 years since the very first episode of The Simpsons aired in the US – a fact that has clearly not been lost on the team behind the award-winning animated sitcom.
On 17 December, a new two-part Christmas special is set to premiere on Disney+, 35 years to the date after the very first episode of The Simpsons (which also took place at Christmas time) appeared on screen.
Titled O C’Mon All Ye Faithful, the special will feature a special guest star in the form of Derren Brown, who is voicing himself as part of a storyline in which Homer begins to believe he is Santa Claus after being hypnotised.
Simpsons writer Carolyn Omine said: “In terms of lines and screen time it is probably one of the largest guest starring roles we’ve ever had, and he is fantastic, charming and very funny in the episode.”
Derren himself said that guest starring in The Simpsons is “the best thing that’s happened in my life so far”.
“I was asked to keep it very quiet for the time being, so I immediately told everyone I met,” he joked.
The Simpsons began life as cartoon shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, but proved so popular with viewers that they eventually landed their own spin-off.
It hadn’t been producers’ choice to launch the show with a Christmas special – they’d initially wanted to go with Some Enchanted Evening (in which Bart and Lisa outsmart an evil babysitter), but instead opted for Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire when their preferred choice ran into animation issues.
Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire was a hit when it first aired in 1989, picking up two Emmy nominations the following year.
O C’mon All Ye Faithful, parts one and two, will premiere on Disney+ on 17 December.
The specials will apparently be Pamela Hayden’s final outing voicing Milhouse Van Houten, following her recently-announced retirement from The Simpsons.
