Opinion: “The Simpsons” On Disney+ Is An Important Litmus Test For Both Sides

 

 

Talk to people who create animated series for any Disney-affiliated company, they will tell you that Disney is one of the most creatively-stifling conglomerates of all time. Some filmmakers saw a thaw when Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy had released giving hope to those who want to stretch the boundary of comic book films from being cliched CG messes or a paint-by-the-numbers origin story in exchange for truly fruitful experiences that, yes Martin Scorsese, can very much be cinema.

In television, Disney’s take over of 20th Century FOX has already seen disastrous consequences. FX’s Deadpool show never happened with reports claiming that a Taylor Swift joke, seen as dangerous fodder for the Disney Princesses, didn’t go over well with Marvel higher-ups. More recently, Disney executives were initially flummoxed with the impending release of 20th Century FOX’s Jojo Rabbit as the concept doesn’t necessarily jive with the company’s current core values (I bet you didn’t even know that the film releases this week).

Some hope can be pointed to the debut of Disney XD shepherding a murderer’s row of quality content for primetime audiences like Pickle & Peanut, Gravity Falls, and Wander Over Yonder, all of which had been canceled in favor of Star Wars phenoms and Marvel shit shows. But, The Simpsons is the anti-Disney series and will literally be the litmus test that could either carry or kill Disney+.

It sort of worked for FXX, the multi-billion dollar deal that saw the entire run of the show made available on a once fledgling network that has since gone on to successfully renew It’s Always Sunny and Archer for a couple of seasons now. Launching new intellectual property (as previously mentioned) has been a challenge, but with the debut of Cake maybe we’re getting signs of a network going in the right direction. But, it’s been The Simpsons that have allowed FXX to find a footing in the ratings and make enough profit to last as long as it has. And while Star Wars and Marvel will certainly be valuable in gaining Disney+ to get those hardcore Con-goers, it’s going to be The Simpsons that makes mostly male audiences give the streaming service the same kind of juice Hulu is getting from South Park today.

But, most importantly, it will be the creative freedom of The Simpsons that will be the fresh air on Disney+. The producers of the longest-running animated series in primetime don’t care about your feelings, your interests, your opinions. They know what works, and after 31 seasons, it’s continuing to do so. If Disney were to try to infiltrate and change anything on that show, there would be such a massive takeaway of the company’s key decision makers/buyers that they would essentially be handing the competition the keys to victory in an increasingly combative streaming war (Family Guy is doing a whole bit about this on Sunday Night’s episode). It would be wise for Disney to take a back seat and let this show continue to flourish.

If anything, another potential positive of having The Simpsons on Disney+ is certainly going to be testing the waters for potential new and original intellectual property that could feed that same fanbase. Much in the same way Hulu is going to do with a slew of original adult animation offerings on the back of South Park’s success, Disney+ could look at viewing data for The Simpsons and say, “how can we expand on this and keep THIS fan?” The obvious answer is to continuously renew The Simpsons, but father time will force the company to shepherd that next potential hit.

Make no mistake, The Simpsons heading to Disney+ with every episode unedited (a point those disappointed with the FXX’s hack jobs will certainly abide by) and future seasons in production could make the combo a fruitful one…just so long as Disney doesn’t fuck it up.

The Simpsons hit Disney+ on November 12th