The Simpsons will soon explore the "great tragedy" of Homer's life.
Sitting down for an exclusive chat with Digital Spy, co-showrunner Al Jean was asked about season 33's further experimentation in the wake of its musical episode and prestige drama parody.
Related: The Simpsons is about to do something it's never done before
"I wrote an episode where Homer tries to solve the great tragedy of his life. And it's not a straight-forward episode, but it came out very sweetly," he shared.
US fans only have a matter of days to wait too, as it'll air this Sunday (November 21).
Confirming it's a flashback, Jean also teased: "It's Homer as a younger kid, on a road trip with his dad."
Related: The Simpsons producer defends changing the show's timeline in latest episode
Away from that, the animated sitcom released a short film to celebrate Disney+ Day last week, featuring a whole gallery of Disney-owned characters at an anniversary party which everyone but Homer was invited to.
"The Disney+ Day celebration is headed to Springfield in The Simpsons in Plusaversary!" read a synopsis. "In the new short, The Simpsons host a Disney+ Day party and everyone is on the list... except Homer. With friends from across the service and music fit for a Disney princess, Plusaversary is Springfield's event of the year."
When shaping this special, though, The Simpsons masterminds were banned from using Mickey Mouse, as Jean explained: "They sort of had a rule that we don't depict [him].
"We prefer to have Bart being Mickey – as you see at the end of the short, which we think is a lot of fun for us. Nancy [Cartwright] does a great Mickey laugh. And because it's Bart, we can make him a real jerk."
The Simpsons is now available to watch on Disney+ in the US and the UK.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
