Seven Years Later, The Simpsons Can’t Resist Parodying Netflix’s Sci-Fi Phenomenon Again

Guess what Springfield is up to next: The Simpsons is taking another swing at Black Mirror. Yep, again. And honestly, it fits. When you are the longest-running scripted primetime American series ever, you circle back to the big cultural touchstones. Sometimes you even double back to the same one.

So, what is 'Yellow Mirror'?

Disney+ has a new Simpsons special on the way called 'Yellow Mirror,' arriving in August 2026. It is the show’s sixth Disney+ exclusive, and it is structured like a two-parter. One mini-story kicks off with a busted lamp that sends Homer into a reality spiral. The other drops an AI- driven tablet into Maggie’s life, which first plays nice and then starts calling the shots. Light bedtime reading for the baby, obviously.

Wait, didn’t they already parody Black Mirror?

They did, and pretty thoroughly. Back in season 31, episode 8, the anthology installment 'Thanksgiving of Horror ' included a segment called 'The Fourth Thursday After Tomorrow.' That bit riffed on Black Mirror’s holiday showstopper 'White Christmas '—specifically the cruel setup where Oona Chaplin’s character is turned into a sentient digital 'Cookie' and forced to obey. The Simpsons twist used an AI version of Marge angling to escape endless housework and get credit for cooking Thanksgiving dinner. It was quick, but it was loaded with nods, including a cameo from Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker.

Why go back to the same well?

Because this is classic Simpsons DNA. The show has always dined out on big, idea-forward anthology TV—early Treehouse of Horror entries were basically love letters to The Twilight Zone. Black Mirror is the modern tech-obsessed cousin of that, so returning to it makes sense, even if they already did a dense tribute once. And let’s be real: after three-plus decades, The Simpsons has been known to repeat itself and to haul beloved side characters back for curtain calls. Going back to a fertile target like Black Mirror is not exactly out of character.

• 'Yellow Mirror' details: Disney+ exclusive No. 6; drops August 2026; two stories—Homer questions reality after a lamp breaks, and an AI tablet cozies up to Maggie before tightening its grip.
• Previous Black Mirror spoof: Season 31’s 'Thanksgiving of Horror' segment 'The Fourth Thursday After Tomorrow' targeted 'White Christmas' (Oona Chaplin’s tormented 'Cookie'), with an AI Marge twist, a Charlie Brooker cameo, and quick-hit references to 'Nosedive,' 'The National Anthem,' 'The Waldo Moment,' 'USS Callister,' 'Bandersnatch,' 'White Bear,' and 'Crocodile.'

Is it a little odd to mount another full-on Black Mirror riff after cramming so many callouts into one earlier segment? Sure. But given the show’s long history of tech anxieties, Twilight Zone homages, and the occasional narrative déjà vu, a bigger, splashier second pass tracks. If nothing else, 'Yellow Mirror' sounds like the kind of premise The Simpsons can still have real fun with—one foot in sci-fi dread, the other in domestic chaos.