‘The Simpsons’ Pulled off Television, Becomes Disney+ Subscription-Only

in Disney, Entertainment

The image shows the Simpson family from the animated TV show "The Simpsons" standing in a forest at night. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie all have worried and surprised expressions as they look off to the side. Trees and a dark sky are in the background.

Credit: Fox

Disney is pulling The Simpsons off of traditional television broadcast and moving to produce subscriber-only streaming episodes of the beloved Fox sitcom.

The Simpsons looking happy watching TV
Credit: Fox

When Disney purchased 21st Century Fox in 2019, it took ownership of notable superhero franchises that Marvel Studios had its eyes on for years, like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. So far, that has paid off with the billion-dollar box office gross of Deadpool & Wolverine, and the Mouse is counting on the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps to do the same.

But comic book series are not the only thing Disney got out of the Fox deal. In addition to the Avatar film and theme park franchise and the iconic National Geographic brand, the company acquired The Simpsons, one of the most popular, critically acclaimed, and longest-running animation series of all time.

Now, it appears that Disney’s strategy is to take The Simpsons (as well as other animated shows) off broadcast TV and make fans of the series pay for streaming services in order to watch new episodes.

The image features a large assortment of movie and TV show posters, forming a colorful background mosaic. In the center, prominently displayed, is the Disney+ logo, indicating that the platform offers a wide variety of content.
Credit: Inside the Magic

Related: Hollywood Icon Reprising 33-Year-Old Role in “Shocking” ‘The Simpsons’ Takeover

Variety reports that Disney is producing four Disney+ exclusive episodes of The Simpsons for the upcoming season, which will not be broadcast on Fox. This means that in order to see your favorite Springfield family in these episodes, you’ll have to be a paying subscriber of the company’s streaming service; perhaps not coincidentally, the Mouse has raised the price of all of its streaming services for two years running.

Currently, the cost of Disney+ without ads is more than double what it was upon its first launch.

A scene from "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," the premiere episode of The Simpsons
Credit: Fox

These four subscriber-only episodes were announced at the recent D23 event, along with numerous expansions to various Disney Parks and media.

The first Disney+ episode will be a Simpsons season 36 two-parter titled “O Come All Ye Faithful,” which will premiere on December 17 as part of the 35th anniversary of the first full-length episode, “Simpsons Roasting Over An Open Fire.” Two more episodes, titled “The Past and the Furious” and “Yellow Planet,” do not yet have a publicly scheduled release date, while the fourth, a Halloween episode, does not yet have a title.

After Disney purchased The Simpsons, along with the rest of Fox, it began producing streaming-only shorts. Most of these have been tie-ins to Mouse-owned IP, like “The Force Awakens from Its Nap,” “Rogue Not Quite One,” “May the 12th Be with You, ”  (Star Wars), “The Good, the Bart, and the Loki”  (Marvel), and “When Billie Met Lisa” (timed to promote the 2022 Disney+ concert film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles).

Star Wars Disney Plus Simpsons short
Credit: Disney +

However, the upcoming Christmas two-parter is the first time that a full-length episode (specifically, not a promotional short) of The Simpsons has been produced as a subscriber-only Disney streaming service exclusive. Given that Disney CEO Bob Iger has been struggling to find a way to actually turn a profit with streaming, it seems inevitable that more formerly broadcast television content is going to be pushed in that direction.

Related: Disney Quietly Cancels ‘The Simpsons’ Theme Park Update, Character Quickly Erased

In a very similar fashion, the Disney-owned Hulu service is reportedly beginning to produce streaming-only episodes of Family Guy, the other most notable currently airing Fox animated series.

In recent months, the company has increasingly demoted Family Guy, removing it from its usual fall premiere and Sunday evening time slot. This also seems like it is laying the track for the Seth MacFarlane show to become an online (i.e., paid) exclusive in the future.

Cartoon character Stewie Griffin from the show "Family Guy," wearing a yellow shirt and red overalls with a blue backpack. He stands outdoors with a forest and mountains in the background, looking off to the side with a serious expression.
Credit: Fox

Of course, aside from discovering that streaming services don’t actually earn much profit, Disney is having to figure out how it will pay an extra $5 billion for purchasing Hulu without doing all its research ahead of time. There are a lot of Simpsons fans out there, but it might be a little bit optimistic to hope they can make up that difference.

Will you watch The Simpsons if it becomes a streaming exclusive?

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