# The Simpsons season 31
Season 31 of *The Simpsons* is the thirty-first broadcast season of the American animated sitcom, airing on Fox from September 29, 2019 to May 17, 2020 in 22 episodes.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-simpsons) • [3](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-simpsons/seasons/dvd/31) [Al Jean](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-jean) served as showrunner for most of the season, with Matt Selman showrunning seven individual episodes.[4](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Season_31)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | Fox; premiered September 29, 2019, finale May 17, 2020[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) • [3](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-simpsons/seasons/dvd/31) |
| Episode count | 22 episodes, each with a listed runtime of 21 minutes[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-simpsons) |
| Showrunners | Al Jean for most of the season; Matt Selman for YABF21, ZABF03, YABF17, ZABF06, ZABF08, ZABF10, and ZABF14[4](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Season_31) |
| Production codes | Mostly production season ZABF, with seven rollover episodes from production season YABF[4](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Season_31) |
| Critical scores | 80% Tomatometer from 5 critics; 59% Popcornmeter from 50+ audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) |
| Streaming | Disney Plus and YouTube TV in the United States; purchasable on Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, and the Apple TV Store[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-simpsons) |
## Episodes
The season opened with "The Winter of Our Monetized Content," in which a video of Bart and Homer fighting goes viral and the two become social media celebrities, while Lisa battles the school's new industrialized detention system.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) The Halloween installment, "Treehouse of Horror XXX," aired as episode 4 on October 20, 2019, with stories involving Milhouse trapped in another dimension, dead Homer's spirit trying new bodies, and Selma finding love in an unlikely place.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31)
**Notable episodes.** "Thanksgiving of Horror" (episode 8) offered a second holiday-themed anthology in one season, with nightmares spanning the first [Thanksgiving](https://www.edgepedia.org/thanksgiving), an artificial intelligence mishap, and a space mission complicated by sentient cranberry sauce.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) "Frinkcoin" (episode 13) had Professor Frink develop a cryptocurrency that overtook [Mr. Burns](https://www.edgepedia.org/mr-burns) as the richest man in [Springfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/springfield).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) "Bart the Bad Guy" (episode 14) centered on Bart accidentally seeing a new superhero movie a month before release and wielding plot-spoiling power.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) The two-part "Warrin' Priests" (episodes 19 and 20) introduced Bode, a young charismatic preacher who shakes up the church and whom Reverend Lovejoy investigates.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31)
The season finale, "The Way of the Dog," aired May 17, 2020 and explored the tragic past of the family dog, [Santa's Little Helper](https://www.edgepedia.org/santas-little-helper), after the dog bites Marge.[3](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-simpsons/seasons/dvd/31) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31)
## Production
The season was assembled mostly from episodes of production season ZABF, with seven rollover episodes from the earlier YABF production season also airing within it.[4](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Season_31) One episode, "The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby" (episode 18), brought back baby Hudson, a character who first appeared in the theatrical short film *Maggie Simpson in "Playdate with Destiny"*, which had screened in cinemas alongside the Disney film *Onward*; the episode itself had been delayed from season 30 for that reason.[5](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/okily-dokily-the-simpsons-season-31-to-premiere-6th-november-on-disney-in-the-uk-and-ireland) • [6](https://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodeguide/season31.html) Executive producers for the season were [James L. Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-l-brooks), [Matt Groening](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-groening), and Al Jean.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds an 80% Tomatometer based on 5 critic reviews and a 59% Popcornmeter score from more than 50 audience ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) Critics were mixed on individual episodes: Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club graded the premiere a B-, calling it "a pleasantly forgettable exercise in blurred-together mid-season Simpsons," while Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave it 3/5 and Fausto Ponce of Alta Fidelidad Magazine called the first episode "a real gem" but found the season uneven so far.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31) Kate Robertson of The Post NZ highlighted "Treehouse of Horror XXX" as an episode not to miss.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31)
**A perceived uptick.** Starburst magazine's review, published under Sol Harris's byline, reported that season 31 "represents a very real uptick in quality," speculating that Matt Groening's reduced distraction by his other series or the [Disney acquisition of Fox](https://www.edgepedia.org/acquisition-of-21st-century-fox-by-disney) might have pushed the staff to try harder.[7](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/the-simpsons-season-31/) Aggregated user ratings place the season at 6.5 out of 10 across its 22 episodes, level with seasons 32 and 34 and above season 30's 6.2.[8](https://tvrankd.com/show/the-simpsons/) Audience reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes have similarly described the season as a clear improvement over season 30 that settles into a mostly middle-ground rhythm.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31)
## Availability
In the United States the season streams on Disney Plus and [YouTube TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/youtube-tv), and can be purchased on Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, and the Apple TV Store; in Canada it also streams on Crave.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-simpsons) • [9](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/tv-show/the-simpsons/season-31) Audio is offered in ten languages including English, Czech, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and [Brazilian Portuguese](https://www.edgepedia.org/brazilian-portuguese), with subtitles in more than 25 languages.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-simpsons)
## References
1. [The Simpsons: Season 31, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_simpsons/s31)
2. [The Simpsons - watch tv show streaming online](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-simpsons)
3. [The Simpsons, Season 31, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-simpsons/seasons/dvd/31)
4. [Season 31, Wikisimpsons](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Season_31)
5. [Okily Dokily! The Simpsons Season 31 to premiere 6th November on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland, Disney UK Press](https://press.disney.co.uk/news/okily-dokily-the-simpsons-season-31-to-premiere-6th-november-on-disney-in-the-uk-and-ireland)
6. [The Simpsons Archive: Episode Guide, Season 31](https://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodeguide/season31.html)
7. [The Simpsons Season 31 review, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/the-simpsons-season-31/)
8. [The Simpsons, Episode Ratings and Season Trajectories, TVRANKD](https://tvrankd.com/show/the-simpsons/)
9. [The Simpsons Season 31, JustWatch (Canada)](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/tv-show/the-simpsons/season-31)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Screen seasons › Adult animated series seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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