An episode of South Park from a dozen years ago posits that no matter what plotline or joke or cultural reference you can conceive of, chances are that The Simpsons has already done it. Starting in October, you’ll be able to verify that for yourself any time you want to.
The long-running animated series, which begins its 26th season next fall, is getting its very own app and website where you will be able to watch every Simpsons episode ever created. Simpsons World launches in October and was unveiled Monday by FXX, the cable channel that has bought the rights to reruns of the TV series.
Any time you want to watch any one of The Simpsons’ 552 episodes, just fire up Simpsons World. Episodes will be available to stream on demand, with Simpsons World creators promising that it will be easy sort through the hundreds upon hundreds that make up the show’s back catalog. In fact, according to TV critic Alan Sepinwall’s account of the Simpsons World presentation, search capabilities will be so refined, you’ll be able pinpoint favorite jokes or scenes and share them across social media. If that’s the case, my friends and loved ones should brace themselves for a barrage of quotes from the “Last Exit to Springfield” episode.
Many of the promised features in Simpsons World sound like something pulled directly from a Simpsons superfan’s fever dream. You want the episode’s script to scroll alongside a Simpsons episode as you watch it? Simpsons World will do that. You want easily accessible episode guides with character pages? Simpsons World has you covered. You want to build your own playlist of episodes, and have the app recommend similar episodes as it groks what you like? Yes, Simpsons World will do that, too.
It will also probably undermine all form of human productivity and hasten mankind’s doom. But hey, we had a good run.
In addition to a Web portal, Simpsons World will be available as an app for iOS and Android devices, the Apple TV, Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles, and Smart TVs. To see full episodes, you’ll need to have a cable subscription to sign in. In that sense, it will work a lot like the HBO Go app—no big surprise, because the developer behind that app is also working with FXX on Simpsons World, according to the Onion AV Club.
You may have to wait another few months before diving head-first into Simpsons World and never returning, but next month, you’ll be able to watch all 552 Simpsons episodes, provided you have 12 days to spare. FXX plans a Simpsons marathon featuring every episode in order that will begin on August 21 and wrap up by September 1. The only break in that 24-hours-a-day stream of Simpsons episodes will occur between the last episode of Season 18 and the first episode of Season 19, when FXX will air 2007’s The Simpsons Movie.
This fellow seems excited by the news.