Why ‘The Simpsons’ Began with a Christmas Episode
What To Know
- The first full-length episode of The Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” aired on December 17, 1989, serving as both the series premiere and a Christmas special.
- The episode was not originally intended as the premiere; it replaced “Some Enchanted Evening” due to severe animation issues with the latter.
- This last-minute switch proved successful, helping launch The Simpsons as a half-hour series and establishing its now-iconic family dynamic from the start.
The Simpsons has been on TV for over 35 years, but do you remember how it all started? Though the series might be more famous for its annual Halloween specials, Christmas actually played an integral role in the series from the beginning. “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” which first aired on December 17, 1989, wasn’t just a holiday episode; it was the official series premiere. The episode will air again on December 24, 2025, as part of the FXX Simpsons Christmas marathon, which makes it the perfect time to revisit how and why this episode became the show’s starting point — though the show’s creators never planned to kick off the series with a Christmas episode.
How did The Simpsons begin?
Before The Simpsons existed as a standalone show, the family lived in short animated segments on The Tracey Ullman Show. Those rough, jagged shorts introduced Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie to audiences starting in 1987. When Fox ordered a full series, the plan was to launch earlier in 1989 with a different episode titled “Some Enchanted Evening.” However, that episode ran into major animation problems late in production, serious enough that the network pulled it from the premiere slot. With time running out and a December launch already scheduled, the Christmas episode was moved up instead.
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
So, what was the pilot supposed to be? According to Collider, “That honor was supposed to be ‘Some Enchanted Evening,’ but was switched due to the animation from Korea being so bad it was unusable (it would eventually air as the thirteenth episode).” That last-minute switch turned out to be a good thing. Fox executives were reportedly nervous about whether audiences would stick with an animated show for a full half hour, but it worked. In hindsight, it is hard to imagine The Simpsons starting any other way. The very first standalone episode ends not with a joke but with the family singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” around their new dog.
Remind 
Home For The Holidays
November 2021
Celebrate the holidays with your favorite classic stars!
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