‘The Simpsons’ Boss Teases Emma Thompson & Colin Jost Roles in Season 38 Premiere

Emily Aslanian September 24, 2026, 1:00 pm

It’s Get Him to the Greek meets Planes, Trains and Automobiles as Season 38 of The Simpsons kicks off with an exciting story for Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), in an episode titled “The Children’s Book Job,” that showrunner Matt Selman likens to a “high-concept movie.”

Distracted dad Homer — who, in this ep, is addicted to “one of those really idiotic kind of farming-type phone games called Bowling Alley Manager,” says Selman — must chase around a wily British children’s author, Constance Clavinger (guest star Emma Thompson, “in a really ballsy, crazy performance,” teases the showrunner). It’s all to help out dedicated mother, Marge (Julie Kavner), who has booked the major author for a book fair in an effort to save Springfield Elementary. Unfortunately, Constance is a feisty, reclusive boozehound.

“Along the way, [Homer and Constance] form a friendship where they bond, they fight, they love each other, they betray each other — they have triumphs and they have failures, you know, all in like a 15-minute act,” adds Selman.

THE SIMPSONS: Marge hopes to save Springfield Elementary by inviting a reclusive British children's author (guest star Emma Thompson) to appear at the school's book fair. But Homer botches his assignment of picking the author up at the airport, and the drunken pepper pot leads him on a desperate wild chase to get her to the school on time. in the “The Children's Book Job” Premiere Episode of THE SIMPSONS airing Sunday, Sep. 27 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. THE SIMPSONS © 2026 20th Television / FOX.

20th Television / FOX

From the airport bar to a news-copter, Selman says that Constance is the ultimate “agent of chaos.” And while Homer may be “the sane one,” in this episode, he’ll still get an insane moment, teases Selman: “Homer has a massive head injury and he enters the world of all these classic books, like Richard Scarry.”

“We really wanted to do a show about children’s books and do our version of classic children’s book art, like [Eric Carle’s] The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Make Way for Ducklings [by Robert McCloskey], Diary of a Wimpy Kid [Jeff Kinney] and all that stuff,” continues the Simpsons boss. “[We thought] to Simpsonify that stuff would be really fun and cool.”

'The Simpsons' Season 38: Cast, Episode Details, Trailer, Premiere Date, and More

Saturday Night Live‘s Colin Jost also guest stars, voicing a version of himself, “who has written an idiotic children’s book,” says Selman.

Beyond the premiere, fans can look forward to the annual Treehouse of Horror XXXVII, which Selman teases will features a shockingly overdue stop-motion homage to The Nightmare Before Christmas. (Composer Danny Elfman, who is responsible for Nightmare, also wrote The Simpsons‘ theme song.) And as of Spring 2025, The Simpsons has been renewed through Season 40 on Fox, so more laughs, mashups and mishaps are on the way.

The Simpsons, Season 38 Premiere, Sunday, September 27, 8/7c, Fox