The Simpsons New Season Premiere Is Secretly the Series Finale, But There’s a Catch

The Simpsons has always joked about how it’s got enough stories to last for years, but what if it actually came to an end? That was the question poised by The Simpsons Season 36 premiere episode that revealed that it was really going to be approached as a series finale to the entire show overall. The Simpsons had been teasing fans about its next season premiere being one that they shouldn’t miss seeing live, and it turned out to be because this premiere was going to be a full series finale with all sorts of shout outs to series finales of TV shows in the past. 

The Simpsons Season 36 premiered the episode, “Bart’s Birthday,” and it began with a returning Conan O’ Brien revealing that it’s actually a celebration of the series’ history. Mirroring the likes of “The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular” from back in Season 7, O’Brien hosts a special series finale celebration for the series with all sorts of celebrities and guest stars from the series’ past in attendance. This ultimately ends with a twist that means more episodes will be happening instead, but here’s a breakdown of the kinds of endings that The Simpsons did for this “series finale” twist. 

How The Simpsons Ends

• Principal Skinner retires to become a new headmaster in a school in Sacramento, Groundskeeper Willie will be his roommate, and it’s teased that this will form the basis of a whole new spin-off
• Homer bumps into Mr. Burns, and he then falls into a pit of acid and dies. Burns’ entire fortune and power plant is then split between all of the employees. 
• WWE Superstar John Cena helps to deliver Comic Book Guy and Kumiko’s baby, Comic Book Guy closes his store
• Kirk Van Houten’s “Can I Borrow a Feeling” single ends up getting him signed for a full album. The family’s moving to Atlanta, and Milhouse will be able to get Lasik eye surgery to not have to wear glasses anymore. 
• Duffman marries Ms. Hoover, Ned Flanders marries Ruth Powers, Selma marries Yes Guy, and Patty marries her girlfriend Evelyn, Moe closes his bar, and the Springfield Tire Fire is turned off
• Homer and Marge successfully go to couples counseling, and accept their differences to start living in a new trauma free household. Maggie says her first word again, it’s “So, that just happened…”
• Nelson’s dad comes back (again)
• The real Seymour Skinner (infamously seen in “The Principal and the Pauper” moves back in with his mother 
• Funerals are held for Mr. Burns, Old Jewish Man, Disco Stu, and Hans Moleman 
• Krusty the Clown airs his final show with his entire cast (including Sideshow Bob) reunite for the goodbye
• Lisa wins a Junior Juliard Jazz scholarship and a MacArthur Under 18 genius grant 
• Chief Wiggum transfers the Chicago P.D. to join the “All Decapitations Unit” 
• Evergreen Terrace is renamed to “End of the Road” 
• Bart celebrates his 11th birthday with a party attended with many guest characters and extended cast members from across the series. Including John Cena, characters that have died, and others rarely seen such as Danny DeVito returning as Herb Powell for a single line. 

Is The Simpsons Really Ending? 

“Bart’s Birthday” began with an AI pulling together all episodes of The Simpsons along with the series finales of every TV show ever, and hilariously ended up with the final product. But as Bart sees all of the endings around him, he instead wants to fight against the idea of everything changing so it can stay the same. It all culminates at his 11th birthday, and he pushes Homer to the point where he wants to choke him (instead of trying to improve through counseling). It’s a hilarious full circle moment for the series as it references the fan outcry of Homer maybe not choking his son anymore, and thus the series returns to its status quo. 

This breaks the episode, and Bart realizes it’s his tenth birthday and nothing will ever change. It’s the same for The Simpsons as well as it ends with celebrities like Tom Hanks yelling at O’Brien for wasting all of their time. The Simpsons is far from over as this fake out proves, and this is only the beginning of Season 36 of the series airing this Fall.