After 36 years, it’s the end of an era for The Simpsons in the UK

The Simpsons has been on the box for nearly as long as I’ve been alive, and in my mind, it’s synonymous with one channel: Sky One.

Yes, I know there are people who will remember the glory of the BBC Two years, and younger Millennial readers will look back fondly on the Channel 4 days.

Still, when I was a kid, if you wanted to watch The Simpsons, you tied an onion to your belt and tuned into Sky One at 7pm, ready to watch America’s most dysfunctional family.

In fact, here in the UK, The Simpsons and Sky have had an unbreakable partnership for the last 36 years.

Yet, sadly, all good things must come to an end, and it seems as though The Simpsons and Sky are consciously uncoupling.

According to pop culture junkie and blogger Wesley Mead, from November 1, 2026, Sky will no longer broadcast The Simpsons.

They note that on Saturday, October 31st, at 6 pm, Sky One will broadcast Treehouse of Horror XV.

However, as of Sunday, November 1 2026, The Simpsons disappears from the schedule.

In fact, it’s missing from Sky’s programming for the next two weeks, and sadly Wesley thinks this is a permanent change.

Wesley does note that this isn’t exactly a huge surprise for those who’ve kept a beady eye on the wild world of TV broadcasting rights.

In December 2024, the House of Mouse announced that new Simpsons episodes would premiere exclusively on Disney Plus before airing on E4 afterwards.

Still, despite not having access to the new episodes, Sky retained the right to show older episodes

‘Sky One’s repeats have continued in earnest throughout 2025 and 2026,’ Wesley noted, adding that Sky One was the only place showing seasons 34 and 35 on TV as they predated the E4 deal.

There has been no official word from Sky as to whether The Simpsons has been permanently pulled from schedules.

However, as Wesley notes, The Simpsons’ disappearance is strange as the show hasn’t taken a break like this ‘since the early 1990s’.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what Sky’s plugged the schedule gap with, it looks like it’s episodes of Animal Control, Best Medicine and Superstore.

Metro has contacted Sky for comment.