The Simpsons Airing First-Ever Live Segment This Year

After more than 25 years, The Simpsons is still finding ways to keep things fresh. Showrunner Al Jean announced today that the animated TV show will air its first-ever live segment in May. Jean explains that the show will be live for three minutes (the final three minutes of the show) on both the east and west coasts for a segment in which Homer will comment on the "events of the day."

Jean told The Hollywood Reporter that this will be made possible through an unspecified motion capture technology, which will replicate Homer's voice and motions in an animated scene. Homer, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, will talk about things he "could only be saying live on that day."

"As far as I know, this is the first time that's been done by any animated show," Jean said. "And Dan is a great improviser."

This special episode of The Simpsons will air at 8 PM EST on Sunday, May 15 on Fox.

It's not the first time the creative team has made some interesting moves with the show to drum up interest. There was talk about Homer and Marge splitting up and Sideshow Bob finally killed Bart (kinda).

The 27th season of The Simpsons is currently airing. The show, which debuted in 1989, will also get a 28th season next year, reaching 625 total episodes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.