9 ‘The Simpsons’ Episodes Removed from TV Broadcasts

Fans of The Simpsons can now enjoy a new way to watch their favorite show. Disney+ has recently added a 24/7 livestream of Simpsons episodes to its lineup, offering 767 episodes from Season 1 to Season 35 in chronological order. That’s almost 300 hours of non-stop TV fun!

However, one episode seems to be missing from the livestream—Season 3’s “Stark Raving Dad.” This episode was removed in 2019 because of Michael Jackson’s involvement. He voiced a character who thought he was Michael Jackson in the episode, leading the executive producers to make the tough call to pull it after watching the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland.

In addition to “Stark Raving Dad,” several other episodes have been dropped from broadcast in various countries. Season 10’s “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo” wasn’t shown in Japan, and Season 34’s “One Angry Lisa” is unavailable to Disney+ subscribers in Hong Kong. The episode “Goo Goo Gai Pan” from Season 16 is also missing from Hong Kong’s Disney+ service due to sensitive content about China.

Furthermore, U.K. audiences initially didn’t get to see Season 9’s “The Cartridge Family” because of its portrayal of gun use during riots in Springfield. This episode, along with other controversial ones, was later released on home video as “The Simpsons: Too Hot for TV.”

And did you know that Argentina and other Latin American countries didn’t air Season 19’s “E Pluribus Wiggum” due to criticism of former president Juan Perón? In “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson,” the family travels to the Big Apple, but after the 9/11 attacks, some lines had to be edited when the episode was rebroadcast.

Lastly, episodes like “Marge Gets a Job” and “On a Clear Day I Can’t See My Sister” were temporarily taken off the air in Austria because they touched on sensitive topics like radiation poisoning and nuclear meltdowns during the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. The show’s producers were understanding of the decision, showing respect for real-world events.

It’s interesting to see how certain episodes of The Simpsons have been affected by cultural sensitivities and historical events around the world. It goes to show that even a beloved animated series like this is not immune to controversy and adaptation based on global contexts.