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‘The Simpsons’ showrunner on how the sitcom ‘predicts the future’

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“The Simpsons” is doing a Springfield version of its Christmas special, currently streaming on Disney+.

“O C'mon All Ye Faithful” is a special two-episode series that follows British mentalist Derren Brown as he comes to Springfield. Things quickly descend into chaos and Homer is hypnotized into thinking he is Santa. It will also mark the 35th anniversary of the original Christmas special, “The Simpsons: Roasting on an Open Fire,” which first aired in 1989.

“2023 has been very difficult,” show writer Carolyn Omine told the Post.

The Emmy Award winner said she got the idea for the episode during that time. “Ultimately, I watched a lot of YouTube and I watched a lot of Deren Brown…he was exactly what I needed and that's what it was.” It's very funny and light-hearted, but at its core it's always been There was something deep. And it always made human points, was moving and educational. ”

“The Simpsons” Christmas special key art.
Homer and Marge in “O C'mon All Ye Faithful”.

She said the show has a lot of regulars, so it feels natural for the supporting characters to stand out in episodes like this Christmas special.

“When we decided that [Homer as Santa] We had an elf and we knew it was going to be Ralph, but we never thought, “These two have never really dated, so let's put them together.” But then I realized, “Oh, these two have never really been paired together.” So we're having fun doing it. ”

She added, “I feel like if we did something like, 'What's a pairing that we haven't done before?'” So if you just stick together and come up with a story, it's going to feel weird. It's just a matter of coming up with a story and seeing who fits that story best. That's great, we have these characters with very rich backstories. You could paste it anywhere. ”

Homer and Ralph in the new Simpsons Christmas special.
A scene from the new “The Simpsons” holiday special.
Bart and Lisa appear in the new “The Simpsons” Christmas special.

The Simpsons has also frequently been credited with “predicting” the future on several occasions, including pop culture events, smart watches that appear to have predicted, Trump's inauguration, and the FIFA scandal.

Showrunner Matt Selman told the Post, “People really want magic to come true, right?”

He joked that they were using cauldrons of herbs and doing “witch and wizard stuff” to predict the future.

“We don't try to predict anything. There's nothing on the show that says, 'Guys, this is a prediction,'” he explained.

“All we're talking about is a world full of idiots. And stupid idiots do the same stupid things over and over again.”

In “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” Homer plays Santa and Ralph plays the elf.
Matt Selman attends 'The Simpsons' Holiday Special World Premiere Screening of Disney+'s 'O C'mon All Ye Faithful' held at El Capitan Theater on December 13, 2024. Getty Images

He joked, “People want things like, 'Oh, we have this amazing laser that shines light on crystals… and we all meditate and pray together.' And the next morning, When you wake up sweating, you know what's going to happen.''

Omine added that part of the reason the show sometimes “predicts” the future is due to its sheer volume of episodes, currently over 700.

“We made a lot of episodes, and a lot of the things we predicted didn't come true,” she explained.

“I think we tend to try to be very accurate whenever we put out some facts. Sometimes we just get lucky.”

She added, “If we could actually predict the future, we'd all be much wealthier than we are now!”

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