‘The Simpsons’ Justed Proved Its Specials Are Better Than The Main Series
Brandon Zachary
Updated onJuly 07, 2026
The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons Season 37 episode, “Simplsey,” now streaming on Disney+
The Simpsons (1989) has often been at its best when it’s been willing to be experimental. The initially grounded animated sitcom found a lot of early success by becoming something equally ambitious and wacky, delivering big laughs and surprisingly insightful examinations of modern society and bigger questions about life. As the show has gone on, it has also developed a tendency to play with genre expectations, especially when it forgoes the loose continuity that defines most of the series and goes for broke.
That’s especially true in the Disney+ era, which has led to thematically and emotionally ambitious specials that aren’t constrained by the typical limitations of broadcast television, like most episodes. This extends to “Simplsey,” a special episode that reimagines the show as a 1950s-style noir. Beyond being a clear parody of murder mysteries and noir dramas, “Simplsey” speaks to one of the greatest modern strengths of the series and to how the streaming era has allowed the show to become more ambitious and grim than ever before.
‘The Simpsons’ Just Did Its Own ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’
“Simpsley” feels perfectly attuned to noir’s grimmer tone while still finding plenty of room for comedy. The episode focuses on variants of Homer and Marge, who only meet for the first time as adults instead of falling in love as teenagers. Set in 1956, the episode follows con artist Marge as she goes to Italy to convince wealthy business heir Seymour Skinner to return to the United States. There, she discovers Seymour is an aspiring artist whose muse is his friend/mooch, Homer. As their plots bristle against one another, Seymour ends up accidentally wounded, leading the mooch and the con artist to finish the job and start a whirlwind trip across Italy with Homer assuming Seymour’s identity.
The episode takes lots of overt cues from <a href="https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-talented-mr-ripley” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), with Homer following Tom’s arc in killing and replacing his companion. The episode also has some laughs with the sexual ambiguity of the source material, with Homer showing a romantic interest in Seymour that actually sets the stage for the latter’s demise. For her part, Marge’s reimagining as a femme fatale makes her an interesting heir to characters like Christabel in Born to Be Bad (1950), giving her a lethal edge that pays off in some very grim beats.
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Even though The Simpsons largely has a loose canon from episode to episode, non-canon specials like the “Treehouse of Horror” or occasional genre-bending episodes like “Simpsley” are able to push the morality of characters in wild directions. They’re also able to kill off characters with sudden brutality, which happens plenty in “Simplsey,” befitting the noir tone
Seymour’s demise is the big turning point of the episode, setting the stage for Homer and Marge to carry out their deception across Europe. When Gary Chalmers comes to see his friend, Marge murders him to cover up their actions. When a local boy (Bart) witnesses them moving the body, Homer strangles him to death to hide their crimes. After barely escaping the authorities, Homer and Marge reaffirm their feelings for one another, only to murder each other out of fear that the other could jeopardize their respective freedoms.
The final irony of the episode is in the conclusion, when it’s revealed that Agnes had died back in America, leaving “Seymour” the freedom to continue his life and avoid suspicion. Even compared to other casualty-heavy Simpsons episodes, “Simplsey” uses the noir tone to brutally dispatch multiple members of the cast
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The Simpsons has been increasingly willing to play with format and tone, especially when it comes to non-canon episodes. Season 33’s “A Serious Flanders” two-parter, for example, is a surprisingly bloody parody of Fargo (2014) that uses the disconnect from the “real” Springfield to kill off plenty of characters. “Simplsey” takes it even further, however, by not even really playing with the overt parodies that The Simpsons usually indulges in. While there are some goofy gags throughout the episode, including a reference to <a href="https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/super-mario-bros-the-movie” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) that plays off the Italian setting, most of the episode is dedicated to the gallows humor that comes with ruthless noir characters existing in a slightly goofy world.
Similar to the other canon-breaking episodes and the other Disney+ specials that eschew the typical limitations that come with being aired on broadcast television, the streaming specials allow the creatives behind the scenes to push the show in all sorts of goofy directions. It speaks to the enduring versatility of the series and the natural adaptability of the characters, even when they are completely reinvented
The Simpsons
1989
8.6
Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.
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