Saturday morning, The Simpsons came to New York City for an NYCC panel to bring all sorts of stories, clips, and prizes! Moderated by Vulture’s Jesse Fox, creator Matt Groening, showrunner Matt Selman, executive producers Carolyn Omine and Tim Long, and actor Hank Azaria brought their unique brand of humor on stage for fans.
Two clips from an episode that acts as the show’s series finale (garnering a “shocked gasp” from showrunner Matt Selman) included a guest appearance from John Cena. Selman described the episode as a “salt-of-the-earth” approach to any future discussion about a series finale.
There’s another clip where Chief Wiggum reveals he’s got a promotion in a meta moment about clichè series send-offs. The clip even includes a moment TV viewers have seen countless times: Wiggum shutting off the lights.
Onto the next clip, for an episode inspired by the 1985 film After Hours (“something kids these days want to see,” jokes Long). He goes on to reveal the guest stars for the episode: Richard E. Grant, Molly Shannon, and After Hours’ Griffin Dunne.
The panel moves on to the upcoming Christmas special that will be airing on Disney+. According to Selman, since this will not be broadcast, the episode will be double the length. Omine revealed the guest stars for the episode: a cappella group Pentatonix, Patti LaBelle, and Darren Brown. Darren Brown attempts to hypnotize Homer Simpson to boost his spirits, but this inevitably ends up with Homer thinking he’s a certain “sparkly elf.” The Halloween episode is also teased, with a segment based on Venom being revealed.
During the Q&A section, the fan theory that Chief Wiggum isn’t actually Ralph’s father. The discussion quickly delved into the possibility of Officer Eddie being his father and Selman jokingly “revealing” that Clancy Wiggum is a cuck.
With 35 years’ worth of animation history, The Simpsons has earned the right to do whatever they want — no matter how subversive it is. The “weird planetary cycle” of people theorizing about a series finale may never end, but I hope this show never comes to an end as well. Fans can embiggen their eyes and ears on all the unpossible jokes in the future on Fox and choo-choo-choose to watch the show’s past episodes on Disney+ right now.