FOX THE SIMPSONS: A musical comes to life in Springfield as Marge stages a revival of her beloved high school show
“The Simpsons” is once again breaking new ground when it airs an all-musical episode to kick off its 33rd season. It premieres Sunday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.
If you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch “The Simpsons” special Season 33 premiere online:
Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of Fox (live in most markets) and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch “The Simpsons” live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most shows on-demand within three days (and sometimes longer) of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of Fox (live in select markets) and 30-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s Sling Blue bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with Fox, and you can get your first month for just $10:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch “The Simpsons” live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of Fox (live in select markets) and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but you can get your first month for just $10:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch “The Simpsons” live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” Fox (live in most markets) is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch “The Simpsons” live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of Fox (live in most markets) and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch “The Simpsons” live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV comes with both its extensive on-demand library (which includes most shows after they air) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
‘The Simpsons’ Season 33 Premiere Preview
For the 33rd season premiere, “The Simpsons” is breaking out their dances shoes and warming up their golden pipes for “The Star of the Backstage.”
Its description teases, “A musical comes to life in Springfield as Marge stages a revival of her beloved high school show — but her wonderful memories are threatened by the return of a rival from the past.”
Then on Sunday, Oct. 3 comes “Bart’s in Jail,” whose description reads, “When Grampa falls victim to a phone scammer, the Simpsons set out on a mission of vengeance to get his money back.”
In an interview with Variety, the producers talked about the musical episode, for which they did a bit of stunt casting in order to have top-notch singers performing the original songs.
“If you have a voice like Marge, just a little bit gravelly, in your imagination, who do you want to sound like? It is Kristen Bell,” said writer Elisabeth Kiernan Averick. “She has the most beautiful Disney Princess voice, and it’s light and airy and the pitch is perfect. We were lucky enough to get her.”
“This was shaped as a musical from the onset,” Averick added. “And the songs come from an emotional place. Because if you can’t speak, you sing, and then if the emotion gets too high, you dance. ‘The Simpsons’ has always loved to do music, and they do it so well and so funny. But this was the first time that we were like, ‘there’s going to be plot in these songs, and it’s going to move the story forward.’”
Earlier this year, “The Simpsons” was renewed for a 33rd and 34th season on FOX.
“It’s a sincere pleasure to announce the Season 33 and 34 pick-ups for ‘The Simpsons.’ We keep hoping that, eventually, they’ll get it right,” said Charlie Collier, CEO, FOX Entertainment in a statement. “Profound respect for and congratulations to Matt, Jim, Al, Matt and the many other wonderful partners working really hard to finally elevate ‘The Tracey Ullman Show.’ As they say, ‘practice makes perfect.’”
“Original, brilliant, outrageously funny, prophetic… there aren’t enough positive adjectives to describe this genius comedy which continues to entertain viewers of all ages,” commented Dana Walden, Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television. “Jim Brooks, Matt Groening and Al Jean lead a team of all-stars who hold such a high bar for themselves and leap over it with each spectacular episode. On behalf of everyone at our studio and the millions of fans of ‘The Simpsons’ around the world, I want to thank our wonderful partners at FOX for making this a truly great day.”
“The Simpsons” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on FOX.