The Simpsons’ Black Mirror Crossover Hits No. 1 on Streaming

With more than 809 episodes under its belt, The Simpsons has spoofed countless pop culture moments over the decades, a legacy famously highlighted by the South Park episode “Simpsons Already Did It.” Among the animated comedy’s enduring traditions are the annual “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween anthologies, which draw inspiration from Rod Serling classics like The Twilight Zone.

The animated series recently debuted a two-part, 26-minute special titled “Yellow Mirror.” The Black Mirror parody quickly climbed the charts to become the most-watched program on Disney Plus. The standalone special opens with Bart delivering a Rod Serling-style monologue to introduce “two tales of the curious and bizarre.”

The opening segment, “The Way He Wasn’t,” follows Homer as he debates the nature of reality with a household lamp. The second story, “I Have No Tablet But I Must Stream,” takes its title from Harlan Ellison’s famous short story and explores modern screen habits through an AI-powered tablet that manipulates Maggie.

Now in its 37th season, The Simpsons earned strong viewer reception with the special. “Yellow Mirror” holds a 7.5 rating on IMDb, comfortably outpacing the current season average of 6.9. While that mark falls short of legendary classics like “Treehouse of Horror V,” which sits at 9.2, the score represents a notable high point for modern Simpsons releases.

When Was The Simpsons’ Golden Age?

Longtime Simpsons fans continue to debate the boundaries of the show’s prime era. A popular Reddit graphic tracking IMDb scores shows user ratings peaking across seasons three through eight before beginning a downward trend after season nine, after which the show produced nearly 30 additional seasons.

Season 38 is scheduled to debut on Fox on Sept. 27, 2026, with multiple episodes planned as Disney Plus exclusives. Fans can also look forward to The New Simpsons Movie, which is slated to arrive on Sept. 3, 2027, marking two decades since the family’s first feature film hit theaters.

Source: Polygon