The Simpsons‘ Treehouse of Horror is a Halloween tradition for many people. Launching on Oct. 25, 1990, as part of The Simpsons’ second season, Treehouse of Horror sees America’s favorite family get thrown into spooky and horror-themed adventures. As these episodes are considered non-canon in The Simpsons’ universe, the writers are free to get a little more violent and weird than they usually are, leading to some of the show’s most remembered moments. But 2022’s installment of Treehouse of Horror will be even more special.
What makes this year’s Treehouse of Horror stand out?
Usually, each season has a single Treehouse of Horror episode. However, this year fans get a double dose of horror as there will be two episodes under the Treehouse of Horror banner.
The first episode, dubbed “Not It”, will be a Treehouse of Horror style episode. But rather than being a shorts collection like usual Halloween episodes, this episode will tell one self-contained story. This episode will be a parody of Steven King’s It, featuring Krusty the Klown in the Pennywise role. This episode will air on October 23rd, 2022.
Then, the next episode, airing on October 30th, 2022, will be Treehouse of Horror XXXIII, the more traditional Treehouse of Horror episode.
What movies will Treehouse of Horror XXXIII parody?
Currently, several of the parodies featured in Treehouse of Horror XXXIII have been announced. As previously mentioned, the episode “Not It” will parody It, Steven King’s legendary horror tale.
Currently, its been confirmed that Treehouse of Horror XXXIII will feature Lisanime, a parody of popular anime and manga Death Note. This section will be animated by a different studio. At Comic-Con, executive producer Matt Selman described the segment by calling it an:
“incredibly authentic ‘Simpsons’ anime. So I really think people were gonna freak out over that. We’re not trying to take on every single anime, it’s an unbelievably rich and diverse genre within itself. We’re not trying to do 20 shows and scoop it all into six minutes. It’s just one beloved thing, this show Death Note.”
Another confirmed segment is “Simpsonsworld”, a parody of the popular TV show Westworld, a series about a theme park full of realistic robotic cowboys.
The final announced parody is “The Pookadook”. This segment will be a riff on the cult-classic horror film The Babadook. Landing on screens in 2014, The Babadook told the story of a woman being tormented by a strange monster from a storybook her child brought home – and this creature seems to become more powerful when its existence is acknowledged.
Interestingly, at Comic-Con, Matt Selman said that in “one of them, we break one of the rules we’ve never broken before. I’m gonna say this is a rule we’ve never broken. I’m 100% sure we’ve never broken it.” So fans will be in for a surprise when this new Treehouse of Horror episode hits screens.
