So, why double the terror this year? One of the showrunners, Matt Selman, shared with EW back in July that the Treehouse of Horror franchise is their most famous episode of the season. With that as a good reason, the producers decided to expand the Halloween festivities for the fans.
Selman also stated that he and the writers are “tired of being constrained” with shorter parodies of beloved Halloween and pop culture tales that are crushed within a thirty-minute episode.
This is it… Presenting the poster for Treehouse of Horror XXXIII — now with more horror than ever! pic.twitter.com/TGiVCTCMNQ
— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) September 29, 2022
One TreeHouse will follow the tradition of the three-story trilogy that will pay homage to the Japanese Manga “Death Note.” The second in line will be a whole episode parody of Stephen King’s “It,” with Krusty as Pennywise, the clown of children’s nightmares.
In The Simpsons’ retelling, titled “Not It,” both “It” movies will be unraveled, and the Maine town’s name, Kingfield, is both an appreciative nod to Stephen King and a spoof on Springfield.
The inspiration behind “Not It” comes from the fans themselves. In recent years, fans have gotten inked with Krusty x Pennywise tattoos; therefore, the producers created an entire storyline just from that. So why not tribute the fans who made Krusty and the other characters household names?
Halloween is not the only holiday that was given terror treatment. In 2019, “Thanksgiving of Horror” debuted with three tasty tales based on the feasting affair.