'Simpsons' Death To Be Featured in Season 26 Premiere

After roughly a year of rumors trumpeting the upcoming death of one of the show's long-running characters, The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean is now confirming when we'll be learning about that tragic passing.

It's official: the season 26 premiere will feature the death of a familiar face. However, that's really all we know in terms of specifics, save for a handful of hints from Jean himself. For one, the actor who voiced the soon-to-be-deceased character won an Emmy for the role; secondly, the character has appeared in more than two episodes. The premiere is titled "Clown in the Dumps," which narrows the possibilities a bit.

Of the characters who fit the criteria of the soon-to-be-deceased character, there's really just three who have any sort of relation to a clown: Krusty the Clown, his father Rabbi Herschel Krustofski, and Sideshow Bob. Either one would make for a fairly emotional story, but I just can't imagine the show really killing off Krusty or Sideshow Bob, although I guess anything is possible. It would almost be bold to the point of bravery, even though it would potentially alienate a large section of the fanbase.

“Clown in the Dumps” airs Sept. 28 on Fox, and will kick off the most eventful season of The Simpsons in some time: in addition to the long-awaited crossover with Family Guy, it was confirmed at the press tour that the show would also have a crossover with Matt Groening's other popular animated series, Futurama. The special event is scheduled to air Nov. 9, with all major cast members of the show returning, including Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal, Phil LaMarr, Lauren Tom, Maurice LaMarche, and Tress MacNeille. The episode, titled “Simpsorama”, features Bender traveling back in time to kill Bart because of something Bart does in the present that ruins the future.

Sounds...kind of awesome, actually, even if a little gimmicky. But when you've been on the air for 26 years, gimmicks become standard sooner or later.

Via: Entertainment Weekly

Credit: FOX