O C'mon All Ye Faithful
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- "Oh, I'm the worst. I make people sad. I should die and they should donate my body to a crappy medical school where they study my brain for why I suck at buying gifts."
- ―Homer Simpson
"O C'mon All Ye Faithful"
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Episode Information
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"O C'mon All Ye Faithful" is the double length first Disney+ exclusive episode of The Simpsons and the seven hundred seventy-eighth and seven hundred seventy-ninth episode overall. It was released on Disney+ on December 17, 2024. The episode was written by Carolyn Omine and directed by Debbie Bruce Mahan and Matthew Faughnan. It guest stars Derren Brown as himself, Patti LaBelle as herself, and Pentatonix as the "World Famous Santa Claus" and "Local Springfield Santa Claus" singers.
Synopsis[edit]
- Famed British mentalist, Derren Brown, comes to Springfield and uses psychological tricks and showmanship to raise the town's Christmas spirit. When Homer gets hypnotized and mistakenly believes he is Santa Claus, it sets off a cheery chain reaction and causes everyone to question what they believe and to explore the meaning of "miracle".
Plot[edit]
It's the lead-up to Christmas, and Derren Brown is conducting an experiment involving hypnosis and psychology to alter the festive mood of the town. He arrives in town with his accomplices, posing as a film crew from Hark Media, to film a documentary about the award the city has just won: the "Christmasiest" town in America. They interview Quimby about the fake award, making him uneasy, aside from the usual interactions with Miss Springfield. This convinces Quimby to allow the crew to place cameras everywhere to film.
They begin by cheering up Gil, giving him the strength to call his family by simulating him saving a baby from a runaway carriage. Other stories unfold until they reach Homer, who is forced to go shopping, something he is terrible at, by Marge to buy her a present. When Homer continues to doubt himself, Derren enlists Marge's help, and she signs a contract allowing him to hypnotize Homer.
They modify the Power Plant vending machine, sending Homer to a basement where Derren is waiting. However, something goes wrong with the hypnosis, and Homer begins to believe he is Santa Claus. The next day, he asks Smithers for a new company ID as Santa and hands him a thimble. When Mr. Burns enters the room, he mistakenly thinks the thimble is a gift from Smithers, which causes his heart to grow three sizes. This leads to him being taken to the emergency room for surgery.
Other townspeople begin to believe in Homer's newfound "powers" and make numerous present requests. Ralph joins him as an elf, and soon everyone believes, with the pair even appearing on Channel 6's Smartline. The Christmas spirit reaches an all-time high, with Homer becoming a celebrity, but there is one person who remains skeptical: Ned Flanders. Marge worries that Homer has become too absorbed in the world of Santa, while Maggie becomes jealous of other kids sitting on his lap. Bart also expresses concern. Derren, who has inadvertently created a Santa cult, wants to come clean.
At the Jubilee, Derren admits to his actions and states that Marge and everyone else need Homer back, but the townspeople disagree. As Derren is explaining, Ned suddenly realizes that not only does Santa not exist, but his whole belief system may be a myth. To calm him, Marge takes him to the roof of the Town Hall, where Ned shares how his views have recently changed.
He used to leave messages for Maude on the bathroom mirror and text Edna on his phone. Recently, however, he received a reply, which he thought was from Maude in paradise, only to discover it was Nelson, who had obtained her phone number. That morning, he also failed to leave a Post-it on the mirror. Marge suggests he take a rest and promises he'll feel better the next day. However, the following morning, Ned begins removing all his religious items from the house. Marge encourages Bart and Lisa to spend time with Rod and Todd to cheer up Ned and remind him that God exists. Bart confides in Lisa that he's not feeling the Christmas spirit this year and feels he's outgrowing it. Lisa explains that as people get older, Christmas shifts from receiving to giving. Since he has no money, she suggests he do what he does best but for others, starting with Rod and Todd.
Ralph comes to Homer's house, and Homer still believes he can be Santa for Springfield, at least for the people he knows, if Ralph helps as his elf. Meanwhile, during lunch, Ned doesn't say his prayers before eating, which worries Rod and Todd. Bart and Lisa ask them what they want for Christmas from Santa, but they explain that they don't get toys because they give them to those in need. Ned, however, tells them that this year they'll change things, as they are the unfortunate ones who don't have God. Bart gives them the toy catalogue, and they begin fighting over it.
Marge seeks Derren's help to find a way to get Ned to believe in God again, with the assistance of charlatans, but Derren refuses. He hypnotizes her instead, and she wakes up on a bench with his book in hand. Meanwhile, Homer and Ralph have fun building toys and a sled out of a car, just to crash it into Moe's. Later, Ned asks the kids if they've built a snowman, as one appears in the garden, but they deny it. He suggests they do something now since they're skipping church, and they decide to watch TV instead. When it's time for bed, they notice a shadow at the window, the snowman has moved, and a creepy voice begins singing quoting lines from "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".
Marge rings the bell, and they all re-enter the house, where they see more shadows inside. Another shadow starts singing "Jingle Bells," but Marge soon discovers it's Bart making the voices behind a curtain while trying to perform the Bartman. Marge invites them to have eggnog at their house while she cleans. Bart explains that he did it for her, hoping to help Ned believe in God again, which Derren couldn't do. Marge asks why he made it so scary, but he insists it wasn't, just as the girl from The Ring appears behind them, revealing it was Milhouse.
Meanwhile, Homer and Ralph start delivering gifts, beginning with Rainier Wolfcastle, but the security system triggers, and Ralph starts the car without Homer, causing the cops to taser him. Back home, Ned wonders if Lisa missed miracles when she went to Buddhism, and she explains that they also believe in miracles, sharing the story of the blind turtle and the golden yoke. Marge doesn't like the idea that their belief system lacks an afterlife but focuses on the present, and they argue. Ned leaves the house.
At the Police Station, Homer is arrested and insists on being given cocoa and marshmallows, prompting Lou to use mace on him. After the cops leave, Ralph frees Homer from the cell, and Homer decides he will only be Santa for his family, telling Ralph he'll be the elf just for his. Meanwhile, Ned is walking and arrives at the church where the Christmas Eve service is starting but ignores it. He narrowly avoids a wrench thrown by Professor Frink, who tells him someone must be looking out for him. Ned begins to open up, and Frink invites him to join him on a dive in a submarine to explore the depths.
As they talk about science, God, and the wonders of the deep, Ned begins to realize the enormity of their surroundings and urges Frink to return to the surface. However, the pressure begins to damage the submarine. They manage to rise above the pressure zone, but the submarine breaks apart. They resurface, and Frink notices Ned is holding a plow yoke. Ned declares it a miracle and starts to believe in God again. They return to port, where they meet the Simpsons and share what happened.
When Ned returns home, Derren emerges from the water and reveals it was all his doing. The entire dive was staged with Frink's help. Since Derren is on the nice list, he gives Derren a gift: a bowtie, which Derren realizes is the one he lost during his ventriloquist days. He believes Homer must be Santa for knowing that and leaves. In reality, the gift was Maggie's. Back home, Ned is rebuilding the nativity scene on the roof, while Derren prepares biscuits and a Duff Beer for Santa and places the bowtie on his doll. Marge and Homer open their gifts, including Maggie's, while Bart and Lisa watch and laugh from the stairs.
Production[edit]
In August 2024, it was announced that four episodes of the show would release exclusively on Disney+. "O C'mon All Ye Faithful", a double-length episode, was to make up two of them. It was released on December 17, the same date the first episode of the show, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", aired.[1] Showrunner Matt Selman said that the double-length episode would be treated as one whole episode with no cliffhanger between parts, unlike previous two-part episodes.[2] Episode writer Carolyn Omine said that the Disney+ release gave them more flexibility with pacing of the episode to allow it to breathe as the writers intended.[3] Showrunner Matt Selman said that the reason a Christmas episode was chosen to be a Disney+ episode was because Fox didn't love other holiday episodes because they don't perform as well on reruns.[4]
Writer Carolyn Omine got the idea for the episode from her personal life. 2023 was a difficult year for her and she took comfort in YouTube, where she found a Derren Brown video, which she found comforting at the time. Her personal experiences also helped with Ned's crisis of faith storyline.[4] Omine pitched the episode because she "just wanted something uplifting and sort of soul nourishing in some way." After coming up with the reason for Ned to question his faith, Omine had to come up with a reason to restore his faith. She said that it would have been easy to "cheat," since God is a character within the show. But she wanted to have Ned's faith get restored using things an ordinary person would have at their disposal. She got the idea for Professor Frink to restore his faith after hearing a story on KCRW about a woman who went on a deep dive in a submarine and having a moving experience seeing all the sea creatures that logically shouldn't exist. She chose Frink to be the one to take him on the dive because she liked the idea of him not being completely dismissive about God.[5] A scrapped idea to renew Ned's faith in God had Lovejoy convince him, but every time Omine tried to put him into the plot, she decided he didn't belong there.[4]
Speaking about being cast in the episode, Derren Brown said that it was "the best thing that's happened in my life so far." His appearance was called "one of the largest guest starring roles" the show had ever had.[6] Brown's role was written in the episode before they asked him to guest star on the show. Omine flew out to London to record Brown's lines.[5]
"O C'mon All Ye Faithful" was the last episode that regular cast member Pamela Hayden recorded before she retired from the show.[7]
Reception[edit]
Rafael Motamayor of IGN gave the episode an 8/10 rating. He says that one of the most surprising things about the episode is "how well used Brown is." He praises Brown's voice acting and says that his character fits in with the show. Talking about Ned's storyline, Motamayor says that it's "one of the most emotional things The Simpsons has attempted in years." He ends his review calling the episode "a touching Christmas special."[8]
John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 9/10 rating. He also praised Brown's appearance on the show and says that the episode solidifies Carolyn Omine as a top ten, possibly even top five, writer for the show.[9]
Ben Gibbons of Screen Rant also gave the episode a 9/10 rating. In his review, he calls the episode "Another incredible entry from The Simpsons, and a perfect double bill for fans of the show around the holidays."[10]
As of December 2025, "O C'mon All Ye Faithful" has a 6.7 rating on IMDb.[11]
Gallery[edit]
Logo
A Derren Brown Christmas Title screen
References[edit]
- ↑ Variety - "'The Simpsons' to Produce Four New Episodes Exclusively for Disney+ — Including a New Christmas Two-Parter"
- ↑ Animation Scoop - "INTERVIEW: Matt Selman On "The Simpsons" At NYCC And New Season"
- ↑ Laughing Place - "NYCC Recap: "The Simpsons" Reveal Disney+ Holiday Special While Highlighting the Show's Subversive Legacy"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cracked - "EXCLUSIVE: The Inside Story Behind 'The Simpsons' First Special for Disney+"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Variety - "Inside 'The Simpsons' Touching Disney+ Christmas Episode: Homer Regains Some Maturity, While Prof. Frink Restores Ned Flanders' Belief in God"
- ↑ The Independent - "The Simpsons set to feature British star in 'one of the largest guest roles ever'"
- ↑ Carolyn Omine on Twitter - "A beautiful tribute to a beautiful soul."
- ↑ IGN - "The Simpsons: "O C'mon All Ye Faithful" Review"
- ↑ Bubbleblabber - "Review: The Simpsons "O C'mon All Ye Faithful""
- ↑ Screen Rant - "The Simpsons Christmas Special Review: "O C'mon All Ye Faithful" Is An Unforgettable Masterclass In Animated Comedy Storytelling"
- ↑ IMDb - "O C'mon All Ye Faithful"
Promo videos[edit]
"Season's greetings from Springfield! Stream "O C'mon All Ye Faithful," a special all-new, double-sized episode of The Simpsons, coming exclusively to #DisneyPlus December 17." on Twitter- The Simpsons are comin' to town! Stream "O C'mon All Ye Faithful," the all-new double-sized Simpsons holiday special, only on #DisneyPlus December 17." on Twitter
- "Exclusive clip from 'The Simpsons' holiday special 'THE SIMPSONS: O C'MON ALL YE FAITHFUL' This is the first double episode of 'The Simpsons' ever. Releasing tomorrow on Disney+" on Twitter
- "It's a Christmas miracle! "O C'mon All Ye Faithful," the all-new double-sized Simpsons holiday special, is now streaming only on #DisneyPlus." on Twitter
The Simpsons "O C'mon All Ye Faithful" World Premiere introduction at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre at YouTube- "O C'mon All Ye Faithful" Official Trailer at YouTube
"Mid-December is not too early. 🎄 Stream "O C'mon All Ye Faithful," the all-new double-sized Simpsons holiday special, only on #DisneyPlus December 17." on Facebook
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