{"id":615933,"date":"2026-09-06T04:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T04:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615933\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T04:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T04:16:12","slug":"the-simpsons-is-officially-changing-its-formula-for-the-first-time-in-36-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615933\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Simpsons’ Is Officially Changing Its Formula for the First Time in 36 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Simpsons<\/a> features an unusual special in its 37th season. “Yellow Mirror” marks the third and final special of Season 37, released exclusively on Disney+. The special, a clear riff on the popular anthology series Dark Mirror<\/a>, utilizes a format normally reserved for the “Treehouse of Horror” specials<\/a>, a traditional fan-favorite, during Halloween. Despite a break from formula, “Yellow Mirror” heralds a new era for The Simpsons, suggesting the show is finally willing to try new and different things.<\/p>\n

“Yellow Mirror” Uses a Familiar ‘Simpsons’ Anthology Format<\/p>\n

“Yellow Mirror” parodies the popular sci-fi, dystopian anthology series Black Mirror. The special features two dark and twisted tales: “The Way We Wasn’t” and “I Have No Tablet But I Must Stream.” However, this anthology format is generally reserved for the “Treehouse of Horror” specials that always air during Halloween. The episode even features a unique opening and closing credit sequence, which also pays homage to Black Mirror. Although “Yellow Mirror” uses an anthology format, it features only two self-contained stories, rather than the rule of three that “Treehouse of Horrors” generally follows.<\/p>\n

Collider Exclusive \u00b7 Universe Personality Quiz
\n Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most?
\n Star Wars \u00b7 Lord of the Rings \u00b7 Harry Potter \u00b7 Game of Thrones \u00b7 Star Trek<\/p>\n

Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be \u2014 or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude80Star Wars<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc8dLord of the Rings<\/p>\n

\ud83e\uddd9Harry Potter<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc51Game of Thrones<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd96Star Trek<\/p>\n

\n FIND YOUR UNIVERSE \u2192\n <\/p>\n

01<\/p>\n

What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning?
\n Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.<\/p>\n

\n ABeing part of something larger than myself \u2014 a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me.
\n BThe journey itself \u2014 the places I’ll go, the companions beside me, the world I’ll discover on the way.
\n CLearning \u2014 unlocking what I’m capable of, understanding the world’s hidden mechanics, growing into something more.
\n DLegacy \u2014 the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me.
\n EUnderstanding \u2014 exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

02<\/p>\n

Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit?
\n The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.<\/p>\n

\n AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture \u2014 connected by conflict, trade, and the Force.
\n BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges.
\n CA world hidden inside our own \u2014 full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned.
\n DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation.
\n EA future where humanity has reached the stars \u2014 and must decide what kind of species it wants to be.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

03<\/p>\n

How do you prefer your conflicts resolved?
\n The shape of a world’s conflicts tells you everything about its soul.<\/p>\n

\n AThrough sacrifice and courage \u2014 someone has to make the impossible choice so others don’t have to.
\n BThrough fellowship \u2014 the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road.
\n CThrough growth \u2014 confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge.
\n DThrough strategy \u2014 outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt.
\n EThrough dialogue \u2014 finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn’t require a body count.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

04<\/p>\n

Who do you want beside you when things get difficult?
\n Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.<\/p>\n

\n AA small crew \u2014 a pilot, a rogue, a warrior \u2014 each broken in their own way, unbeatable together.
\n BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road.
\n CFriends who grew up alongside me \u2014 who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway.
\n DAllies whose loyalty I’ve earned \u2014 and tested \u2014 and whose ambitions align with mine, for now.
\n EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

05<\/p>\n

What is your relationship with power?
\n How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.<\/p>\n

\n AI want to use it to protect \u2014 and I’m terrified of what I might become if I’m not careful.
\n BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up.
\n CI want to earn it \u2014 through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it.
\n DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me.
\n EI want to understand it \u2014 its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

06<\/p>\n

How does your universe treat good and evil?
\n A world’s moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.<\/p>\n

\n AThere is a dark side and a light side \u2014 and the choice between them is always present, always personal.
\n BEvil is real and ancient and patient \u2014 and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it.
\n CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people \u2014 and people are complicated, always capable of both.
\n DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency.
\n EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems \u2014 and understanding it is the first step to solving it.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

07<\/p>\n

What role would you naturally fall into?
\n Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?<\/p>\n

\n AThe reluctant hero \u2014 ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act.
\n BThe unlikely carrier \u2014 the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything.
\n CThe student \u2014 not yet who I’ll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs.
\n DThe player \u2014 sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it.
\n EThe explorer \u2014 drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

08<\/p>\n

What do you ultimately believe about the future?
\n The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.<\/p>\n

\n AThat hope is real \u2014 that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible.
\n CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try.
\n CThat love and friendship and doing what’s right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise.
\n DThat the wheel keeps turning \u2014 that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it.
\n EThat humanity \u2014 or whatever we become \u2014 is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be.\n <\/p>\n

REVEAL MY UNIVERSE \u2192<\/p>\n

Your Universe Has Been Chosen
\n You Belong In\u2026<\/p>\n

Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people \u2014 and your purpose.<\/p>\n

A Galaxy Far, Far Away\n <\/p>\n

Star Wars<\/p>\n

You believe in the cause \u2014 in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.<\/p>\n

You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
\n You’d find your people in the Rebellion \u2014 a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
\n Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict \u2014 and that is exactly your kind of story.
\n The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.<\/p>\n

Middle-earth\n <\/p>\n

Lord of the Rings<\/p>\n

You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination \u2014 and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.<\/p>\n

Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
\n You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory \u2014 the road more than the arrival.
\n Tolkien’s universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
\n Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.<\/p>\n

The Wizarding World\n <\/p>\n

Harry Potter<\/p>\n

You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments \u2014 they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.<\/p>\n

The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
\n You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously \u2014 and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
\n Harry Potter’s universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
\n That choice \u2014 made quietly, without guarantee \u2014 is something you understand completely.<\/p>\n

Westeros \u00b7 The Known World\n <\/p>\n

Game of Thrones<\/p>\n

You see the world clearly \u2014 its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic \u2014 and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.<\/p>\n

Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
\n You would survive here \u2014 possibly thrive here \u2014 because you don’t confuse the world as it is with the world as you’d like it to be.
\n Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
\n Winter always comes. You are already prepared.<\/p>\n

The United Federation of Planets\n <\/p>\n

Star Trek<\/p>\n

You believe the future is worth building \u2014 that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.<\/p>\n

Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
\n You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve \u2014 while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
\n The Federation is the universe’s most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
\n You don’t just hope that’s possible. You think it’s the only thing worth working toward.<\/p>\n

\n \u21bb RETAKE THE QUIZ\n <\/p>\n

“The Way We Wasn’t” interestingly plays around with the classic Season 2 episode<\/a>, “The Way We Was,” which depicted how Homer (Dan Castellaneta) and Marge (Julie Kavner) fell in love in high school. Except this time, Homer wakes up from a mysterious dream, realizing he dreamt up his entire life and future with Marge in The Simpsons in an eerie alternate reality. “I Have No Tablet But I Must Stream,” a play on the classic Harlan Ellison sci-fi tale, “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream,” amusingly explores screen addiction and AI. The structural format and breaking away from tradition beg the question: Is this a good thing? The answer is a resounding yes.<\/p>\n

“Yellow Mirror” Nails Its Storylines on Multiple Levels<\/p>\n

“Yellow Mirror” might borrow the anthology format that “Treehouse of Horrors” made famous, but the storylines are genuinely fantastic, and some of the best material<\/a> the writers have devised in years. The alternate reality shown in “The Way We Wasn’t” not only plays off of “The Way We Was,” but it also hilariously satirizes real life, as Homer’s dreams inspire him to create a fictional animated franchise called “The Sadsons,” which becomes a decades-long global phenomenon. Homer becomes a grizzled, cynical, and jaded animator and creator at conventions, still haunted by the fictional world that he dreamt up. Homer as a creator remarkably resembles real-life Simpsons creator Matt Groening, so the parody works on multiple levels.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, “I Have No Tablet But I Must Stream” features one of the more socially relevant Simpsons storylines in a while, as Marge uses a tablet to distract and entertain Maggie. However, the tablet’s AI, Hallie (Pattie Harrison), brainwashes Maggie. The comedicyet sobering short highlights the real-life issue of young people becoming addicted to screens and overly reliant on AI. Although the ending shows the Simpsons defeating Hallie, they no longer even know how to connect emotionally as a family, and they all go off to spend time alone.<\/p>\n

‘The Simpsons’ Needs To Step Out of Its Comfort Zone<\/p>\n

\"Homer
\n Homer in ‘The Simpsons’Image via Disney<\/p>\n

Longtime Simpsons fans shouldn’t panic about “Yellow Mirror” breaking from tradition and repurposing the anthology format. It gave the writers and animators a chance to do something different with the characters, and they created genuinely fantastic, timely, and socially relevant shorts. The Simpsons has been on the air for 38 years, and some critics would argue the show has already run well past its expiration date<\/a>. Why shouldn’t the show break from tradition for the Disney+ exclusive episodes?<\/p>\n

If anything, The Simpsons should be in an experimental phase at this point, stepping outside of its comfort zone. Black Mirror was greatly inspired by the classic anthology series, The Twilight Zone<\/a>, and the “Yellow Mirror” shorts share that same inspiration. The Simpsons, throughout its history, has made many homages and parodies of classic Twilight Zone episodes<\/a>, and “Yellow Mirror” offers a new vision of thematically dystopian sci-fi. Simpsons fans should welcome changes to the traditional formula because it can bring something new and refreshing to a show that arguably peaked years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Simpsons features an unusual special in its 37th season. “Yellow Mirror” marks the third and final special…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-615933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}