Halloween Is Over, But We’re Still Getting More ‘Simpsons’ ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Episodes

The folks behind The Simpsons seem to be betting that interest in “Treehouse of Horror” episodes will only rise in the weeks following Halloween, not unlike pumpkin stocks. 

That’s because the next episode of the show, which doesn’t air until November 24th, is titled “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes.” This is only the second time that The Simpsons has used their annual Halloween show’s branding for other episodes, following 2022’s “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Not It.”

But “Not It” still aired during the height of the spooky season, just one week before Halloween. “Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes,” on the other hand, is airing weeks after everybody’s already finished eating their discounted candy and most Spirit Halloween locations have converted back into raccoon-infested abandoned box stores.

Admittedly, the show does have a long history of airing “Treehouse of Horror” episodes after October 31st, an unfortunate tradition that began in 2000 when “Treehouse of Horror XI” was delayed until November 1st. Even this year’s installment was broadcast on November 3rd. 

Although, in the past, this was usually due to the timing of the World Series on Fox. The Simpsons staff’s apparent frustration with this arrangement inspired the opening of “Treehouse of Horror XVI.”

Showrunner Matt Selman claimed that the upcoming episode will be “dark and funny and in the Halloween spirit,” not the late November spirit. But despite this statement and the title, there’s nothing explicitly Halloween-y about the episode. It does borrow the “Treehouse of Horror” format, featuring three canonically-unrelated genre stories, but in this case, all three tales are inspired by the works of legendary science-fiction author Ray Bradbury.

Bradbury’s iconic novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, which does take place around Halloween, will seemingly serve as the basis for the episode’s framing device involving “a mysterious night circus” run by a strange man voiced by Andy Serkis (who either got the part because he’s a good actor with an appropriate voice, or because his name is literally “Serkis”).

Then there will be three segments based on other classic Ray Bradbury stories. Did Superintendent Chalmers order a futuristic sex doll in his own image? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a “Treehouse of Horror” episode has referenced Ray Bradbury; “Time and Punishment” from “Treehouse of Horror V” was no doubt a riff on the famous short story “A Sound of Thunder,” but with a time-traveling toaster.

And a cartoon rendering of Bradbury briefly popped up in Guillermo del Toro’s couch gag intro to “Treehouse of Horror XXIV,” along with authors Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and Richard Matheson. 

Perhaps dedicating an entire show to Bradbury is the show’s way of making up for Martin Prince’s past dismissal of his work.