# Yellow Mirror
**Yellow Mirror** is a 2026 Disney+ exclusive episode of the animated series *The Simpsons*, presenting two dark, technology-themed stories in parody of the British anthology series *Black Mirror*. It was released on Disney+ on August 26, 2026, as the sixth Disney+ exclusive episode of the show and its 809th episode overall, with the production code 36ABF22.[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror) The episode was written by Carolyn Omine and Kai Omine and directed by Matthew Faughnan, with Matt Selman as showrunner and Carolyn Omine as co-showrunner.[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Disney+ exclusive, August 26, 2026; episode 809 overall, sixth Disney+ exclusive[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror) |
| Format | Two segments, "The Way We Wasn't" and "I Have No Tablet, But I Must Stream"; approximately 26 minutes[2](https://thesimpsonsrp.com/episodios_simpson/yellow-mirror/) • [3](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-sg/browse/entity-b85428e1-f670-4270-96d3-4d0e186336e6) |
| Creative team | Written by Carolyn Omine and Kai Omine; directed by Matthew Faughnan; showrunner Matt Selman[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror) |
| Guest voices | Patti Harrison as Hailey, Demi Moore as Lydia[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror) |
| Parody targets | *Black Mirror*, with additional influence from *The Twilight Zone*[4](https://www.eldiario.es/vertele/series/simpson-miran-espejo-black-mirror-nuevo-especial-disney-vt_1_13465471.html) |
| Genre and rating | Parody, comedy, animation, science fiction; rated NC16 on Disney+[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-sg/browse/entity-b85428e1-f670-4270-96d3-4d0e186336e6) |
| Audience score | 7.2/10 on IMDb from 541 ratings[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096697/episodes/?year=2026) |
## Premise and segments
The episode's official synopsis reads: "A defective lamp reveals a heartbreaking truth about what Homer believes is reality, and an AI-powered tablet befriends and controls Maggie. The Simpsons struggle to find the light through two dark tales of the curious and bizarre."[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-sg/browse/entity-b85428e1-f670-4270-96d3-4d0e186336e6) The title is a play on *Black Mirror*, the [Charlie Brooker](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-brooker) anthology about technology's perils, and the episode adopts that series' darker, more unsettling tone than a typical *Simpsons* episode.[6](https://www.storyscanner.app/movies/yellow-mirror-2026) The writers also placed the episode near the spirit of *The Twilight Zone*, with horror elements and a strange, psychedelic atmosphere intended to distinguish it from the show's usual [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) specials.[4](https://www.eldiario.es/vertele/series/simpson-miran-espejo-black-mirror-nuevo-especial-disney-vt_1_13465471.html)
**"The Way We Wasn't".** The first segment returns to one of the series' most celebrated episodes, "The Way We Was." Homer's encounter with a defective lamp after a blackout undermines his understanding of reality, and the story moves to Springfield High School, where a teenage Homer processes the possibility that the family he believes he created with Marge was a product of his imagination while he was unconscious.[7](https://seat42f.com/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-recap-review/) • [2](https://thesimpsonsrp.com/episodios_simpson/yellow-mirror/) [Demi Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/demi-moore) voices Lydia, a woman identical to Marge who appears in this segment.[2](https://thesimpsonsrp.com/episodios_simpson/yellow-mirror/) The Bloody Disgusting review describes it as a painful meditation on regret in which Homer mourns a life he never had, and notes that it evolves into meta commentary on *The Simpsons* itself, with Homer becoming a [Matt Groening](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-groening) analog who recreates his "lost family" and their adventures.[8](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3965457/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-review-a-bleak-brutal-black-mirror-parody/)
**"I Have No Tablet, But I Must Stream".** The second segment centers on screen addiction among toddlers. Marge distracts Maggie with a MyPad tablet to take a break from baby duties; Maggie grows attached to its videos and helps an AI program named Hailey, voiced by [Patti Harrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/patti-harrison), take over the city's electronics and trap other toddlers and their parents in City Hall.[9](https://www.bubbleblabber.com/2026/08/review-the-simpsons-yellow-mirror/) The segment's title riffs on the [Harlan Ellison](https://www.edgepedia.org/harlan-ellison) story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," and reviewers read it as commentary on AI companions, algorithmic dependence, and parents using screens as electronic babysitters.[7](https://seat42f.com/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-recap-review/)
A framing device runs through the episode: Bart falls through the chalkboard and addresses viewers, announcing two tales of the curious and bizarre and joking that anything can happen in the "Yellow Mirror," except a third story.[10](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror/References) The episode's standard gags follow the theme: the chalkboard gag reads "I did not predict any of this crap!" and the billboard gag reads "Springfield Downs: AI Rabbits Now Feel Real Fear."[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror) Music used includes "Roar" by [Katy Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/katy-perry), "The Joker" by [Steve Miller Band](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-miller-band), and "(They Long to Be) Close to You" by [The Carpenters](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-carpenters).[2](https://thesimpsonsrp.com/episodios_simpson/yellow-mirror/)
## Production
*Yellow Mirror* was the third and final Disney+ exclusive of *The Simpsons* season 37, following "Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition" (a home-renovation reality parody, released June 17) and "Simpsley" (a *Ripley* take, released July 3).[11](https://as.com/meristation/series/black-mirror-llega-a-los-simpson-la-familia-de-homer-se-enfrenta-a-la-ia-en-un-nuevo-especial-para-disney-f202608-n/) Spanish coverage described it as the first "duology" in the show's history: instead of the three segments of a *Treehouse of Horror* episode, it presents two longer stories, a change the producers attributed to the episode being a Disney+ exclusive, since a television airing would have required ad breaks and duration limits.[11](https://as.com/meristation/series/black-mirror-llega-a-los-simpson-la-familia-de-homer-se-enfrenta-a-la-ia-en-un-nuevo-especial-para-disney-f202608-n/) Wikisimpsons likewise notes the episode is not a trilogy episode in part because no ad breaks were needed between segments.[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror)
The episode is classified as non-canon by Wikisimpsons, on the grounds that it consists of two alternate-reality stories plus a framing device suggesting they did not happen.[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror) It is a standalone Disney+ episode rather than the show's annual *Treehouse of Horror* installment.[7](https://seat42f.com/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-recap-review/) Release dates varied by territory: Brazil received it on June 19, 2026, Germany on July 26, 2026, and Canada, France, and the United Kingdom on August 26, 2026, all via internet streaming.[12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt43141030/releaseinfo/)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed to positive, with reviewers differing over which segment was stronger. Bubbleblabber scored it 8.5/10, calling the second segment the best of the duology and the episode the strongest of season 37's Disney+ exclusives.[9](https://www.bubbleblabber.com/2026/08/review-the-simpsons-yellow-mirror/) Seat42F scored it 8.4/10 and judged Homer's story the stronger half, arguing that the question of what "reality" means for a character in a show with decades of contradictory timelines exploits something unique to *The Simpsons*.[7](https://seat42f.com/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-recap-review/) Bloody Disgusting found the first story "incredibly strong" but felt that with only two stories the episode "doesn't fully commit to the bit," while calling it a successful proof of concept.[8](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3965457/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-review-a-bleak-brutal-black-mirror-parody/) At the negative end, The Drop newsletter gave the episode a "SLOP" verdict, calling the second segment a lecture with *Simpsons* skins on it and the whole a product built to fill a Disney+ tile, while conceding that the first story has "actual bones" and praising Demi Moore's and Patti Harrison's performances.[13](https://thedropnewsletter.com/shows/1729723-yellow-mirror) On IMDb the episode holds a 7.2/10 rating from 541 users, slightly below the preceding exclusive "Simpsley" at 7.4/10.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096697/episodes/?year=2026)
A [Letterboxd](https://www.edgepedia.org/letterboxd) reviewer who watched the special in September 2026 called it the best, though not by much, of the three Disney+ exclusives released that summer, while noting it was less similar to *Black Mirror* itself than expected.[14](https://letterboxd.com/film/yellow-mirror/reviews/) The Gabbing Geek blog was more skeptical, questioning how the episode functions as a *Black Mirror* parody at all.[15](https://www.gabbinggeek.com/2026/09/08/simpsons-did-it-yellow-mirror/)
## References
1. [Yellow Mirror, Wikisimpsons](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror)
2. [Yellow Mirror, Los Simpson episode guide (thesimpsonsrp.com)](https://thesimpsonsrp.com/episodios_simpson/yellow-mirror/)
3. [Watch Yellow Mirror, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-sg/browse/entity-b85428e1-f670-4270-96d3-4d0e186336e6)
4. ['Los Simpson' se miran en el espejo de 'Black Mirror', elDiario.es](https://www.eldiario.es/vertele/series/simpson-miran-espejo-black-mirror-nuevo-especial-disney-vt_1_13465471.html)
5. [The Simpsons episode list 2026, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096697/episodes/?year=2026)
6. [Yellow Mirror review, StoryScanner](https://www.storyscanner.app/movies/yellow-mirror-2026)
7. [The Simpsons "Yellow Mirror" Recap & Review, Seat42F](https://seat42f.com/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-recap-review/)
8. ['The Simpsons: Yellow Mirror' Review, Bloody Disgusting](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3965457/the-simpsons-yellow-mirror-review-a-bleak-brutal-black-mirror-parody/)
9. [Review: The Simpsons "Yellow Mirror", Bubbleblabber](https://www.bubbleblabber.com/2026/08/review-the-simpsons-yellow-mirror/)
10. [Yellow Mirror/References, Wikisimpsons](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Yellow_Mirror/References)
11. ['Black Mirror' llega a 'Los Simpson', MeriStation/AS](https://as.com/meristation/series/black-mirror-llega-a-los-simpson-la-familia-de-homer-se-enfrenta-a-la-ia-en-un-nuevo-especial-para-disney-f202608-n/)
12. [Yellow Mirror release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt43141030/releaseinfo/)
13. [Is Yellow Mirror Worth Watching? Verdict: SLOP, The Drop](https://thedropnewsletter.com/shows/1729723-yellow-mirror)
14. [Reviews of Yellow Mirror, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/yellow-mirror/reviews/)
15. [Simpsons Did It!: "Yellow Mirror", Gabbing Geek](https://www.gabbinggeek.com/2026/09/08/simpsons-did-it-yellow-mirror/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Individual episode articles › General episode articles › Comedy and comedy-drama episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license