Sorry Disney+, This Is Actually the Best Order to Watch The Simpsons

Disney+ has finally given fans what they’ve been asking for as The Simpsons is now streaming 24/7 on a special new channel for the streaming service, but it’s unfortunately not the most optimal way to watch the long running animated series. The Simpsons celebrated its 35th anniversary just last year, and is currently gearing up to return for the second half of Season 36 later this month. It’s already made its mark with long time fans of the animated series, but it’s actually now in a better place than ever to attract new fans to the franchise. Thankfully, there is a good way to check it out.

Disney+ currently exclusively offers the first 35 seasons of The Simpsons, and are now going to be constantly streaming the episodes in chronological order of their initial release. This means from the very launch of the channel, it kicked off with Season 1, Episode 1. While most shows would probably better fit to jump into the pilot before seeing anything else, it’s actually the worst place to start for newcomers. There’s a way to ease into The Simpsons, and it’s better to start with some of the best episodes first before anything else.

Where to Start The Simpsons

It’s funny to even have a particular way to watch The Simpsons as most fans really did start at the very beginning. It’s the way television used to be. You’d watch the first episode, and then keep tuning in each week from then on as party of a weekly habit each Fall until a season came to an end. Then you’d wait through the Summer months with rerun broadcasts of the episodes until the next batch was ready the next Fall. The Simpsons was built with this idea in mind. It’s a sitcom where the main status quo doesn’t often change from episode to episode, and you can generally jump in anywhere without problems.

There are a few sweeping canonical changes over the course of The Simpsons‘ 35 year history, but nothing too significant as to ruin your enjoyment for not knowing. There are characters who have been written out due to voice actor deaths, or they were outdated in some way, and there are occasionally episodes that reveal characters’ pasts, but nothing that would alter the main course of any particular episode in a truly altering way. That’s all to say that you can really jump into any episode of The Simpsons you want, and just watch whatever episode catches your fancy from there.

But there also is a much more direct path for those who want to get into the series, and are hoping to see the best of it as soon as possible. Rather than start at the first few seasons where The Simpsons is figuring itself out, and is steeped more in some of the pop culture and sociological impacts of the 1990s, it’s best to start with Season 4. This is where The Simpsons‘ more heartwarming (and hardened) family dynamic of the early seasons blends with the more farcical ideas that would become more prominent later.

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Why You Should Start With The Simpsons Season 4

Established The Simpsons fans might wonder why we’re suggesting Season 4 instead of one of the traditional “golden era” seasons (which is anywhere from 5-10 loosely), or even more of the modern seasons that have begun to experiment in fun ways between Seasons 32 to present day, but Season 4 has everything you need right when it starts. There are four episodes back to back highlighting each member of the family (sans Maggie). “Kamp Krusty” starts out with Bart as a way to get kids interested, “A Streetcar Named Marge” highlights the marriage between Marge and Homer, “Homer the Heretic” showcases more of Homer’s selfish yet naive tendencies, and “Lisa the Beauty Queen” challenges Lisa’s world views.

If those episodes get you loving the family like they should, then right after it hits you with “Treehouse of Horror III.” It’s not the best Treehouse of Horror special by far, but it’s also a great way to see more of those wacky ideas early on. Then it’s right back to business with “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie,” an all-time classic for Bart and Homer. This is the best stretch of episodes to start with to get the best grasp on what The Simpsons has to offer, but then also leaves room for more explosive and memorable episodes later. By the time you get to “Marge vs. the Monorail” in Episode 12 of the season, you should be fully invested.

If you’re not all in by then, it’s more likely you won’t truly appreciate or enjoy even the “golden era” offerings that would come later. Those episodes are as great as they are because the series spent so much time figuring itself out and establishing who these characters are. It’s then that they are able to stack on even more to take things to a more exaggerated level without breaking the flow of The Simpsons’ world. You can’t just jump into those episodes first, and then try and watch the earlier or later offerings. It won’t feel right.

If you want to truly enjoy The Simpsons for the peaks of comedy it can offer, then you have to climb the mountain to get there. You don’t have to work as hard as starting from the very beginning (as it would feel like a chore), but you simply can’t just skip to those points. You won’t get the same enjoyment out of them as you would if you saw some of these Season 4 episodes first. After that, you can jump around as much as you like to see how it’s changed over the many eras it has been on television.

Where do you think new watchers should start with The Simpsons? What was the first episode you ever watched? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!