The Simpsons season 33 explained
Season Number: | 33 |
Bgcolor: | - 192870
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Showrunner: | |
Num Episodes: | 22 |
Network: | Fox |
Episode List: | List of The Simpsons episodes |
The thirty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons premiered on Fox on September 26, 2021 and ended on May 22, 2022.[1] The season consisted of twenty-two episodes.[2] On March 3, 2021, the season was ordered alongside a 34th season.[3] It was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Television Animation. Executive producer Matt Selman replaced executive producer Al Jean as primary showrunner this season although Jean continued to be showrunner for several episodes each season.
Episodes this season were nominated for one Emmy Award and five Writers Guild of America Awards.
Voice cast & characters
See main article: List of The Simpsons characters.
Main cast
- Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, Grampa Simpson, Itchy, Sideshow Mel, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Kodos, Rich Texan, Santa's Little Helper, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Mayor Quimby, Gil Gunderson, Hans Moleman, Louie, Blue-Haired Lawyer and various others
- Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
- Hank Azaria as Kirk Van Houten, Moe Szyslak, Old Jewish Man, Chief Wiggum, Raphael, Superintendent Chalmers, Professor Frink, Comic Book Guy, Luigi Risotto, Disco Stu, Snake, Johnny Tightlips, Duffman, Gareth Prince, Cletus Spuckler, Coach Krupt and various others
- Harry Shearer as Waylon Smithers, Lenny Leonard, Jasper Beardly, Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, Mr. Burns, Rainier Wolfcastle, Kang, Ned Flanders, Otto Mann, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. J. Loren Pryor, Legs, Dewey Largo and various others
Supporting cast
- Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Gloria Prince, Birthday Spuckler, Jitney Spuckler, Greta Wolfcastle ("Treehouse of Horror XXXII") and various others
- Tress MacNeille as Agnes Skinner, Maya, Dolph Shapiro, Shauna Chalmers, Mama Risotto, Lindsey Naegle, Mrs. Muntz, Brandine Spuckler, Dubya Spuckler, Whitney Spuckler, Brunella Pommelhorst, Crazy Cat Lady and various others
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Dr. Hibbert, Bleeding Gums Murphy and various others
- Kimberly Brooks as Lewis Clark and various others
- Grey DeLisle as Martin Prince, Sherri and Terri and various others
- Alex Désert as Carl Carlson, Officer Lou and various others
- Chris Edgerly as additional characters
- Dawnn Lewis as Bernice Hibbert, Female Firefighter and various others
- Jonathan Lipow as the wolverine ("Pixelated and Afraid") and Axel ("Boyz N the Highlands")
- Eric Lopez as Bumblebee Man and various others
- Melanie Minichino as Female Scammer ("Bart's in Jail!")
- Tony Rodríguez as Julio
- Maggie Roswell as Helen Lovejoy, Luann Van Houten, Miss Hoover and various others
- Jenny Yokobori as Flor ("Lisa's Belly") and Clarinet Girl ("Girls Just Shauna Have Fun")
The two-part episode "A Serious Flanders" included guest stars Timothy Olyphant, Cristin Milioti, and Brian Cox.[4]
Episodes
See also: List of The Simpsons episodes.
Production
Development
This season and the next season were ordered in March 2021.[5] Seven episodes were holdovers from the previous season.[6] The season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Television Animation, a new unit under Disney Television Studios for adult animation, replacing 20th Television.[7] This season featured the only episode co-written by Johnny LaZebnik, which was co-written with his father Rob LaZebnik.[8]
Starting this season, executive producer Matt Selman took over as primary showrunner. Selman had been the showrunner for several episodes each season since the twenty-third season. Executive producer Al Jean continued as showrunner for approximately four episodes each season. Jean had been the primary showrunner since the thirteenth season. Selman introduced a co-showrunner system for episodes in which he was the showrunner. For each episode, a senior writer would help Selman produce the episode. Selman hired younger writers such as Broti Gupta and Christine Nangle to give the show more perspectives. He also allowed the writers to be experimental and to not rely on the show's previous success.[9]
Promoting the season at the 2021 Comic-Con@Home panel, Selman described the premiere episode, "The Star of the Backstage" as "like a Broadway musical of an episode with wall to wall music." Jean stated that the Treehouse of Horror episode of the season, "Treehouse of Horror XXXII", would feature five segments instead of the usual three. Selman stated that the two-part episode "A Serious Flanders" would be "an epic love letter to the show Fargo and the world of streaming television."[10]
Casting
A new character was introduced in "Lisa's Belly", Dr. Wendy Sage, a hypnotherapist who is also a breast cancer survivor. She visibly has one of her breasts removed. She was created and voiced by Renee Ridgeley, an actress, writer, and real-life breast cancer survivor and the wife of Simpsons writer Matt Selman.[11]
On April 21, 2022, it was announced that Kerry Washington officially joined the cast in a recurring role as Bart's fourth grade teacher, Ms. Peyton, replacing the late Mrs. Krabappel. Ms. Peyton was first introduced in the episode "My Octopus and a Teacher".[12]
Promotional shorts
Two animated short films were released to Disney+ during this season's run, titled Plusaversary, which features Homer and Goofy drinking at Moe's Tavern in celebration of the streaming service's 2nd anniversary,[13] and When Billie Met Lisa, which features a guest star in singer Billie Eilish discussing life with Lisa Simpson.[14]
Release
This season aired on Sundays during the 2021–22 television season as part of Fox's Animation Domination programming block, along with The Great North, Bob's Burgers, Duncanville, and Family Guy. In the United States, after each episode aired, they were released on Hulu the day after. In Canada, Australia and Spain, the season aired weekly on Wednesdays on Disney+ through the Star content hub internationally and on Star+ in Latin America.[15] The first eighteen episodes were removed from Hulu and every episode was added on Disney+ in the United States on October 5, 2022, with the final four episodes remaining on Hulu, with one episode being removed each week.
Reception
Viewing figures
For the 2021-2022 television season, the season earned a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which was the 45th best performing show. It averaged 2.25 million viewers, which was the 98th best performing show.[16]
Critical response
Marcus Gibson from Bubbleblabber rated the season a 7.5 out of 10 in his review:
Awards and nominations
At the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the episode "Pixelated and Afraid" was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program.[17]
Writers Elisabeth Kiernan Averick, John Frink, Loni Steele Sosthand, Jeff Westbrook, and co-writers Rob LaZebnik and Johnny LaZebnik were individually nominated for Writers Guild of America Awards for Television: Animation for episodes written this season.[18] [19]
Notes and References
- Jean . Al . Al Jean . AlJean . 1401182898313515012 . June 5, 2021 . @Boy203Justin that's currently the plan . en . April 8, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220119223422/https://twitter.com/aljean/status/1401182898313515012 . January 19, 2022 . live.
- 1391079886740152321. Al. Jean. Al Jean. AlJean. @VphiamerAdis no 22. July 19, 2021. en. 8 May 2021.
- Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. 2021-03-03. 'The Simpsons' Renewed For Seasons 33 & 34 By Fox. 2021-03-03. Deadline Hollywood. en-US. 2021-08-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210814015140/https://deadline.com/2021/03/the-simpsons-renewed-season-33-34-fox-1234705714/. live.
- Web site: Handlen. Zack. 2021-07-25. The Simpsons writers enter season 33 with self-awareness and no signs of slowing down. 2021-08-11. Polygon. en. 2021-08-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20210811181142/https://www.polygon.com/sdcc/22593026/simpsons-season-33-cast-episodes-guest-stars-comic-con-2021. live.
- Web site: Nellie. Andreeva. March 3, 2021. 'The Simpsons' Renewed For Seasons 33 & 34 By Fox. Deadline Hollywood. July 4, 2024. August 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210814015140/https://deadline.com/2021/03/the-simpsons-renewed-season-33-34-fox-1234705714/. live.
- Web site: Joe. Otterson. February 6, 2019. 'The Simpsons' Renewed for Season 31 and 32 at Fox. Variety. June 30, 2024. February 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190206231513/https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/the-simpsons-renewed-season-31-32-fox-1203130108/. live.
- Web site: Peter. White. March 30, 2021. Disney Launches 20th Television Animation, Promotes Veteran Exec Marci Proietto To Run New Unit Responsible For 'The Simpsons' & 'Family Guy'. Deadline Hollywood. July 4, 2024. May 31, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220531133756/https://deadline.com/2021/03/disney-launches-20th-television-animation-promotes-marci-proietto-the-simpsons-family-guy-1234723503/. live.
- Web site: Alex. McLevy. Johnny LaZebnik on writing Smithers' first serious boyfriend on The Simpsons. November 22, 2021. The A.V. Club. November 22, 2021. en-us. December 7, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211207052151/https://www.avclub.com/simpsons-writer-johnny-lazebnik-on-penning-smithers-fi-1848086248. live.
- Web site: Jesse David. Fox. June 5, 2023. 'The Simpsons' Is Good Again. Vulture. June 16, 2024. June 10, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230610163536/https://www.vulture.com/article/the-simpsons-is-good-again.html. live.
- Web site: Grobar. Matt. 2021-07-24. 'The Simpsons' Season 33 Will Have Musical Premiere, Revamped Treehouse Of Horror – Comic-Con. 2021-08-11. Deadline Hollywood. en-US. 2021-07-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20210726093841/https://deadline.com/2021/07/the-simpsons-season-33-musical-premiere-revamped-treehouse-of-horror-comic-con-1234798357/. live.
- Web site: 'The Simpsons': New Breast Cancer Survivor Character Is Praised by Fans. Martin. Holmes. TV Insider. October 25, 2021. October 25, 2021. October 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160633/https://www.tvinsider.com/1019362/the-simpsons-new-breast-cancer-survivor-character-is-praised-by-fans/. live.
- Web site: Kerry Washington joins The Simpsons cast as Bart's new teacher — get a first look. Dan. Snierson. Entertainment Weekly. April 21, 2022. April 21, 2022. April 21, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220421175849/https://apple.news/AEbWQyezUSL-Fowuz7_ktsQ. live.
- Web site: Schneider . Michael . 2021-11-12 . How 'The Simpsons' Convinced Disney to Let Goofy and Homer Drink a Beer Together . 2022-10-27 . Variety. en-US . 2021-11-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211120201811/https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/the-simpsons-plusaversary-goofy-homer-beer-1235111097/ . live .
- Web site: Garcia . Thania . 2022-04-14 . Billie Eilish Joins the Simpsons in 'When Billie Met Lisa' Short For Disney Plus . 2022-10-27 . Variety. en-US . 2022-07-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706092320/https://variety.com/2022/music/news/billie-eilish-simpsons-when-met-lisa-1235232833/ . live .
- Web site: Disney+ Video. subscription . Disney+. 2022-03-01 . 2022-03-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220319090242/https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/video/758c1471-c169-4f04-ad2a-841e941d574a . live .
- Web site: Rick. Porter. June 8, 2022. 2021-22 TV Ratings: Final Seven-Day Numbers for Every Network Series. The Hollywood Reporter. July 6, 2024. June 9, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220609001940/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/2021-22-tv-ratings-every-network-series-ranked-1235161738/. live.
- Web site: 74th Emmy Nominations: The Animation Contenders. July 12, 2022. Mercedes. Milligan. Animation Magazine. June 17, 2023. June 17, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230617183025/https://www.animationmagazine.net/2022/07/74th-emmy-nominations-the-animation-contenders/. live.
- Web site: Littleton. Cynthia. Schneider. Michael. Adam B.. Vary. March 20, 2022. 'CODA,' 'Don't Look Up,' 'Hacks' and 'Succession' Win Top Prizes at 2022 Writers Guild Awards. June 19, 2023. Variety. en-US. March 21, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220321013959/https://variety.com/2022/film/news/writers-guild-awards-2022-winners-list-1235210159/. live.
- Web site: WGA Awards TV Nominations: 'Abbott Elementary,' 'Better Call Saul,' 'The Crown,' 'Severance', 'Yellowjackets' Among Shows Vying For Top Prizes. January 11, 2023. Erik. Pedersen. May 29, 2023. Deadline Hollywood. en-US. January 11, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230111191729/https://deadline.com/2023/01/wga-awards-tv-nominations-2023-list-1235218393/. live.