Treehouse of Horror XXXI trailer displays a horror unique to 2020. The Simpsons, the longest-running scripted series in American television history, is off and running in its landmark 32nd season. Premiering as short segments on The Tracey Ullman Show back in 1987 before becoming a full-length program and series in December 1989, The Simpsons has held a cartoon funhouse mirror up to society, defying convention and skewering pop-culture for 687 episodes to date, and counting.
The inaugural Treehouse of Horror premiered in October 1990. In observance of the season, the Halloween special featured Bart and Lisa swapping scary stories in their treehouse, which were parodies of well-known fiction works. The first tale being an amalgam of multiple “haunted house” films, the next, a sendup of a classic The Twilight Zone episode, and the last was a cartooned reading of the famed horror poem, The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe. This trilogy of terror would go on to become the staple format of the annual Simpsons event.
The promo for the upcoming all-new Treehouse of Horror XXXI posted on The Simpsons Twitter showed off images undeniably reflective of this past year. Most notable — Marge adorned in a quarantine mask. It’s a safe bet that The Simpsons will attempt to poke irreverent fun at the coronavirus and many of the life's stresses throughout 2020. It’s also hilarious to note that although we see Marge and Lisa wearing masks, Homer is not. You can watch the clip below.
More than just “mask-wearing,” The Simpsons look to be going for a full “End of Days” theme with the episode. They show a glimpse of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse carrying the Treehouse of Horror banner, as well as a shot of Homer, shotgun in hand, dressed in full Mad Max inspired battle gear, amidst a burnt-out world behind him. The promo also shows spots of a CGI animated installment for this year’s Treehouse of Horror. It looks potentially to be a spoof on Toy Story with the Krusty the Clown doll and Lisa’s Malibu Stacy kidnapping Bart.
Socio-political commentary has long been The Simpsons stock-in-trade, leaning in extra heavy in the Treehouse of Horror specials wherein they always swung for the fences. They’ve lampooned presidential elections like that with the brilliant Citizen Kang tale of Treehouse of Horror VII and even taken on the nightmare visions of the ‘Y2K bug’ in Life’s a Glitch, Then You Die in Treehouse of Horror X back in ‘99. With 2020 as their pool of hilarity this go-round, there’s no shortage of material The Simpsons can pull from. Whether it’s the national toilet paper shortage or the murder hornets that had everyone wondering what could be next, The Simpsons will be sure to find the lighter side of it and make this Treehouse of Horror unforgettable. The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXXI airs Sunday, October 18th, on Fox.
Source: Twitter/ The Simpsons