The Simpsons to do TWO Treehouse of Horror episodes this Halloween
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Oh, the double Horror!
Here's some good news for fans of The Simpsons who like to be scared (and who aren't scared of throwing canon to the wind): Season 34 of the venerable animated comedy will offer two Treehouse of Horror episodes this Halloween, the producers announced at a Comic-Con panel on Saturday.
"You'll get one regular fantastic, scary, terrifying, chilling Treehouse of Horror, trilogy of terror extravscreamganza," executive producer Matt Selman tells EW. "But we're also doing a single chilling story, in the same Halloween universe of murder and mayhem and blood and being scared and human frailty and all that stuff."
The bonus Treehouse of Horror episode — which, as he notes, unspools one tale instead of three — will parody Stephen King's It. Can you guess who plays the spooky clown? You definitely can: It's Krusty. "I was like, 'We should just start writing to the tattoos people already have of Pennywise Krusty," quips Selman. "Let's go in that direction. Give the people what they want." Titled "Not It," the episode will "take advantage of the past and present," notes Selman, referencing the first movie's focus on the kids and the decades-later sequel that followed them as grownups. Oh, and you'll like this: "It takes place in Kingfield, which is a spooky Maine version of Springfield."
As for that traditional "Treehouse of Horror" episode — number XXXIII! — one segment will pay tribute to anime classic Death Note. "It's going to be full-on anime Simpsons," he says, while noting that one of the other two segments will "break some of the rules we've never broken before."
Everett Collection
The Simpsons aimed to score with more gore in recent years. Season 27 offered up "Halloween of Horror," a Halloween-set episode in addition to "Treehouse of Horror XXVI." And in season 31, the show brought chills to Thanksgiving with a trilogy of tales in "Thanksgiving of Horror." But this represents the first time there will be two episodes around Halloween in the "Treehouse of Horror" series.
Why the uptick in blood-curdling comedy? "["Treehouse of Horror"] is our most popular episode of the year," says Selman. "They're a great match after football with football fans — scary violence. Also, we're tired of being constrained by the six-minute stories. It's so hard to tell a full story. In fact, we could barely cram the It [parody into the half-hour format]. People really love those things so much, so why not expand the "Treehouse of Horror" brand?
In other news from the show's Comic-Con panel, Melissa McCarthy will guest star in an upcoming episode as the "quirky, silly" son of Grandpa's girlfriend, making him Homer's stepbrother and a rival for Grandpa's attention. It was previously revealed that Kerry Washington will be joining the show as Bart's new teacher.
Season 34 of The Simpsons debuts Sept. 25 on Fox.
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