The Simpsons and its vast library of episodes have been one of the main draws for Disney+ since it launched, and the company has been producing exclusive shorts for the service to entice more viewers. Lately, the practice has expanded to entire episodic specials, as we saw last December with “Oh Come On All Ye Faithful.”
Looks like it’s happening twice, and rather quickly. Another Disney+ exclusive episode of The Simpsons was just announced, called “The Past And The Furious,” and it premieres in less than two weeks. The plot seems to involve Lisa becoming the first non-Brazilian, non-Homer person to travel back in time. She visits the year 1923 to save an extinct moose, in the process meeting a young C. Montgomery Burns. Questions we have so far: wouldn’t this make Burns even older than 104, and how does Lisa even go back in time in the first place?
Disney says the episode is “full-length” but does not specify the number of minutes. “Oh Come On All Ye Faithful” was a full hour and really felt like it was produced for streaming, not broadcast. This one could be similar.
The full-length episode, titled “The Past and the Furious,” follows as Lisa travels back in time to 1923 and discovers that the Springfield Mini Moose, once key to the town’s ecosystem, were driven to extinction in 1925. Teaming up with young Monty Burns, Lisa works to save the moose, but her actions unintentionally shape his future as a ruthless tycoon.
This episode won’t be competing with the show itself, as by that point, The Simpsons will be on hiatus on Fox — Family Guy is temporarily taking its place, returning with an 8 PM time slot for the first time this month. The Simpsons will not return to Fox until April, leaving plenty of time for possibly another Disney+ exclusive episode in the future (but that’s speculation on our part). “The Past And The Furious” debuts February 12.