SPOILER ALERT: Details for The Simpsons Season 36, Episode 1, “Bart’s Birthday,” which aired September 29 on Fox, follow.

“The Simpsons” kicked off its Season 36 premiere on Sunday with what the show called a “series finale.” Hosted by an animated version of former “Simpsons” writer Conan O’Brien, the episode began with “The Simpsons” characters and other personalities entering a Dolby Theater-like venue (technically the “Dolby-Mucinex Theater”) ) entered to celebrate the end of the show.

“It’s a great honor to be with all of you for the series finale of ‘The Simpsons,'” O’Brien said in his opening monologue. “I knew I was the right man for the job because I had hosted the last episode of three of my own shows and there were more… Well, that’s true. Fox has decided to end The Simpsons. This show was a very special part of my early career, so it means a lot to me to be here. Also. I left a sweater in the writer’s room in 1993. This is the only way I can get him back.

“This theater is full of the many celebrities who have appeared on ‘The Simpsons’ over the years and have come to say goodbye,” O’Brien continued. “And of course the stars of Fox’s many live-action hits are there too.”

Cut to one person: “Animal Control” star Joel McHale, sitting alone.

“Well, not a lot of people know this, but Fox has been trying to put an end to this for years,” O’Brien added. “When the very first episode aired in 1989, viewers agreed on one thing: It wasn’t as funny as it used to be, and their expressions of hatred could serve as a history of modern communications technology. Fox executives, unaccustomed to criticism of any kind, immediately caved to public pressure and decided to end “The Simpsons” in 1990.”

O’Brien then showed what he said were original clips of scenes from famous “The Simpsons” episodes, such as 1990’s “Bart the Daredevil” and 2000’s “Little Big Mom,” in which Homer actually died. “Many now-classic episodes were originally conceived as series finales,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien revealed that the show’s writers had used artificial intelligence to come up with the actual script for the final episode: “Bart’s Birthday.” The script parodied some of the biggest clichés found in most series finales – with end-of-story storylines such as the death of Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner’s withdrawal from Springfield Elementary (and his move to a new school in Sacramento , something ripe for a spin-off). , Milhouse’s family moves to Atlanta, several characters get married, Moe graduates, and many characters proclaim, “I’m going to miss this place!”

During the episode, an on-screen glitch announced to viewers that they were watching “The Simpsons Series Finale” (which was sure to confuse viewers who tuned in late and realized it was all just a joke). But series finale Bart became sentient, and at the end of the episode he returned home to learn that he turned eleven – something that has never happened and never can happen on The Simpsons – causing him to rebelling and refusing to blow up extinguished his candles. Homer was about to strangle Bart, and the screen restarted – back to Bart, who was 10 years old again. This stopped all change and possibly the idea that The Simpsons was over.

It was a bold way to kick off Season 36, since The Simpsons isn’t over yet – but the series hasn’t been picked up for a 37th season on Fox, by the way. And since new special episodes of “The Simpsons” are set to air on Disney+ this fall, there is always a lot of speculation at the channel about the future of the series.

In addition to O’Brien and McHale, other guest stars included John Cena (who gave birth to Comic Book Guy’s baby), Danny DeVito, Seth Rogen, Mark Proksch, Amy Sedaris and Tom Hanks, who was very upset when he found out that this wasn’t the series finale after all.

The episode ended with scenes in which “The Simpsons” characters parodied other famous series finales, including “The Sopranos,” “M*A*S*H,” “Mad Men,” “Mary Tyler Moore,” “Breaking Bad.” , “Frasier,” “Succession,” and “Newhart.”

Of course, fans knew that this couldn’t possibly be the “series finale” of “The Simpsons,” as numerous episodes previously announced at San Diego Comic-Con are still coming this fall – including the 35th, “Treehouse of Horror.” “. Episode involving a partnership with Stoopid Buddy (“Robot Chicken”) to parody “Venom”. Also scheduled to air in November is a “second spooky trilogy” focused on a trio of stories inspired by Ray Bradbury, titled “Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes.” Next week’s episode, “Yellow Lotus,” is a parody of “The White Lotus.”