Production season XABF

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Production season XABF

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Production season XABF

Season Information No. of episodes: 22 Showrunner(s): Al Jean Matt Selman Previous season: Next season: WABF YABF

XABF is the thirtieth production season of The Simpsons. Al Jean served as the showrunner for most of the season while Matt Selman served as the showrunner for XABF05, XABF10, XABF15, and XABF22. The episodes mostly aired in broadcast season 29 on Fox, with eight rollover episodes from the production season airing in broadcast season 30. The episodes aired from December 3, 2017 with "Mr. Lisa's Opus", to November 25, 2018 with "Krusty the Clown".

Episodes

Picture Prod. code Title Original airdate Directed by Written by # XABF01 "Mr. Lisa's Opus" December 3, 2017 Steven Dean Moore Al Jean S29 E8 An older Lisa reflects on her past while writing her Harvard College admission essay. She remembers the past birthdays that disappointed her, as well as her coping with Bart being a problem, and writes about how they shaped her into the woman she is today. Meanwhile, Ned helps Homer with his alcoholism. Guest starring: Kat Dennings as Valerie, Valerie Harper as Ms. Myles, Kipp Lennon as Leon Kompowsky, Norman Lear as himself, and Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff. XABF02 "Gone Boy" December 10, 2017 Rob Oliver John Frink S29 E9 When Bart goes missing, the town puts together a search party to find him. After most give up hope, Sideshow Bob manipulates Milhouse into revealing where Bart is hiding. Guest-starring: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob, Valerie Harper as General Hospital nurse, and Shaquille O'Neal as himself. John F. Kennedy as himself (uncredited, via archive footage). XABF03 "Haw-Haw Land" January 7, 2018 Bob Anderson Tim Long and Miranda Thompson S29 E10 When the Simpsons go to a STEM Conference, Lisa falls for a crooning jazz pianist named Brendan Beiderbecke. However, Brendan isn't the only one after Lisa's heart. Meanwhile, Bart discovers that he has an affinity for chemistry. Guest starring: Ed Sheeran as Brendan Beiderbecke. XABF04 "Frink Gets Testy" January 14, 2018 Chris Clements Dan Vebber S29 E11 Fearing that the end of the world is near, Mr. Burns tasks Professor Frink with testing all of Springfield to determine who is worth saving. The results shock the Simpsons when Ralph gets more points than Lisa, and Homer only scores 1 point. Guest starring: Valerie Harper as Jennifer Clarkeson and Maurice LaMarche as Orson Welles. XABF05 "Homer Is Where the Art Isn't" March 18, 2018 Timothy Bailey Kevin Curran S29 E12 When Homer is accused of stealing a million-dollar painting, freelance investigator Manacek is brought onto the case to figure out who the real culprit is. Guest starring: Bill Hader as Manacek and Cecily Strong as Megan Matheson. XABF06 "3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage" March 25, 2018 Matthew Nastuk Tom Gammill and Max Pross S29 E13 Homer and Marge recount the story of their transition from loving their life without kids to being miserable parents. While Marge was a journalist, Homer was popular and successful, until Bart came along and changed their lives. Guest starring: John Baldessari as himself, Kevin Pollak as Ross, Bagel man, and Professor Thernstrom, and J. K. Simmons as JJ Gruff. XABF07 "No Good Read Goes Unpunished" April 8, 2018 Mark Kirkland Jeff Westbrook S29 E15 In an attempt to bring the family together, Marge forces everyone to hand in their electronics and take a trip to a book store. Bart takes an interest in Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Guest starring: Daniel Radcliffe as himself and Jimmy O. Yang as Sun Tzu. XABF08 "Fears of a Clown" April 1, 2018 Steven Dean Moore Michael Price S29 E14 Bart goes to prankster rehab after a clown-mask prank terrifies the town and destroys Krusty's career. A tortured Krusty then tries his hand at serious drama with a regional theater company. Guest starring: Andy Daly as Judge Dowd, Damian Kulash as himself, Jon Lovitz as Llewellyn Sinclair, Jackie Mason as Hyman Krustofsky, and Timothy Nordwind as himself. XABF09 "Forgive and Regret" April 29, 2018 Rob Oliver Bill Odenkirk S29 E18 Grampa makes a confession to Homer while on his deathbed. He tells Homer that after Mona left him, he threw away the recipes she left to Homer. After Grampa's recovery, he comes to realize that this issue will not be easy to reconcile. Guest starring: Glenn Close as Mona Simpson. XABF10 "King Leer" April 15, 2018 Chris Clements Daniel Furlong and Zach Posner S29 E16 Homer and Marge follow Moe after the bar closes early and discover him and his father fighting. The Simpsons, after finding out that Moe has been excommunicated from his family for years, attempt to bring them back together. Guest starring: Ray Liotta as Morty Szyslak, Debi Mazar as Minnie Szyslak, and Jonathan Schmock as the Johnny Bermuda salesman. XABF11 "Lisa Gets the Blues" April 22, 2018 Bob Anderson David Silverman and Brian Kelley S29 E17 When the Simpsons' flight to Gainesville gets re-routed to New Orleans, Lisa is forced to face her failures and regain her confidence as a jazz musician. Meanwhile, Bart is intrigued by the voodoo in Louisiana, and Homer is intrigued by the drinking. Guest starring: Trombone Shorty as himself. XABF12 "Left Behind" May 6, 2018 Lance Kramer Story: Al Jean Teleplay: Joel H. Cohen and John Frink S29 E19 Homer gets Ned a job at the Power Plant, and he soon learns that no good deed goes unpunished when Flanders starts to insist on carpools and demands more from Homer's work performance. Meanwhile, Marge feels as though their marriage has lost its spark. Guest starring: Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel (via archive audio). XABF13 "Throw Grampa from the Dane" May 13, 2018 Michael Polcino Rob LaZebnik S29 E20 After receiving a home insurance payout from a burst water pipe, the Simpsons go to Denmark so Grampa can benefit from the country's free healthcare. While there, the Simpsons enjoy all that Denmark has to offer. Guest starring: Sidse Babett Knudsen as a Danish woman. XABF14 "Flanders' Ladder" May 20, 2018 Matthew Nastuk J. Stewart Burns S29 E21 After getting struck by lightning, Bart has nightmares where he gets visited by ghosts. Bart helps each ghost get closure and move on to the afterlife. Guest starring: Jackie Mason as Hyman Krustofsky. XABF15 "Heartbreak Hotel" October 7, 2018 Steven Dean Moore Matt Selman and Renee Ridgeley S30 E2 Marge and Homer's marriage is tested when they travel to a tropical island to compete for a million dollars on Marge's favorite reality competition show. After getting eliminated in the first round, Marge finds out that it was all Homer's fault. Guest starring: Rhys Darby as Tag Tuckerbag and George Segal as Nick. XABF16 "Treehouse of Horror XXIX" October 21, 2018 Matt Faughnan Joel H. Cohen S30 E4 In the opening, Homer wins an oyster-eating contest against the mythical Cthulhu. In "Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers", Springfield is overrun by plant body-snatchers who want to make the world better. In "Multiplisa-ty", Lisa finally snaps and starts killing people. Finally, in "Geriatric Park", Mr. Burns opens a retirement home where residents have dinosaur DNA injected into them. XABF17 "My Way or the Highway to Heaven" October 14, 2018 Rob Oliver Deb Lacusta, Dan Castellaneta, and Vince Waldron S30 E3 God and St. Peter contemplate what merits a soul getting into heaven, while citizens of Springfield remember their divine encounters. Guest starring: H. Jon Benjamin as Bob Belcher, Jon Lovitz as himself, Dan Mintz as Tina Belcher, Eugene Mirman as Gene Belcher, Tracy Morgan as himself, John Roberts as Linda Belcher, and Kristen Schaal as Louise Belcher. XABF18 "Baby You Can't Drive My Car" November 4, 2018 Timothy Bailey Rob LaZebnik S30 E5 A self-driving car company comes to Springfield, poaching all of the power plant employees with their fun work environment. Mr. Burns and Waylon Smithers go undercover to figure out what motivated the employees to leave. Guest starring: Tracy Morgan as the tow truck driver. XABF19 "Bart's Not Dead" September 30, 2018 Bob Anderson Stephanie Gillis S30 E1 Bart takes a dare and ends up in the hospital. To cover for himself and Homer, he says he went to Heaven and met Jesus. Christian producers offer the Simpsons a movie deal, which Homer takes, but Bart struggles with the guilt. Guest starring: Dave Attell as Luke, Emily Deschanel as herself, Gal Gadot as herself, Jonathan Groff as the actor playing Bart, and Pete Holmes as Matthew. Leonard Nimoy as himself, Katy Perry as herself, and Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer (via uncredited archive footage). XABF20 "From Russia Without Love" November 11, 2018 Matthew Nastuk Michael Ferris S30 E6 After a failed prank call to Moe, Bart, Nelson, and Milhouse get Moe a mail-order bride on the dark web. However, when Moe actually falls for Anastasia, he must try to win her back from her new boyfriend, Krusty. Guest starring: Jon Lovitz as Hacky and Snitchy the Weasel, and Ksenia Solo as Anastasia Alekova. XABF21 "Werking Mom" November 18, 2018 Michael Polcino Carolyn Omine and Robin Sayers S30 E7 Marge wants a job, and stumbles into becoming a plastic food storage container-selling drag queen. Meanwhile, Lisa tries to make the world better in the style of "Amelie". Guest starring: Sutan Amrull as himself/Raja, RuPaul as Queen Chante, and Scott Thompson as Grady Little. XABF22 "Krusty the Clown" November 25, 2018 Matthew Faughnan Ryan Koh S30 E8 Homer finds his calling as a TV recapper, but his harsh grading causes a brawl with Krusty. After almost killing Homer, Krusty hides out at a real circus and finds happiness there. Guest starring: Billy Eichner as Billy and Peter Serafinowicz as the Google-Disney CEO.

Script covers

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Production seasons
7G • 7F • 8F • 9F • 1F • 2F • 3F • 3G • 4F • 5F • AABF • BABF • CABF • DABF • EABF • FABF • GABF • HABF • JABF • KABF • LABF • MABF • NABF • PABF • RABF • SABF • TABF • VABF • WABF • XABF • YABF • ZABF • QABF • UABF • OABF • 35ABF • 36ABF • 37ABF