The Simpsons season 27

The twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons began airing on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2015, and ended on May 22, 2016. The season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. This season was the first of two seasons ordered by Fox in May 2015. The primary showrunner for the season was Al Jean.

The season premiere deals with Homer being diagnosed with narcolepsy, his breaking up with Marge, and falling for a pharmacist. Guest stars for this season include Blake Anderson, Kristen Bell, David Copperfield, Lena Dunham, Kelsey Grammer, Nick Kroll, Yo-Yo Ma, Edward James Olmos, Kevin Michael Richardson, and George Takei. Carl Zealer, who won a competition to be animated into The Simpsons, appeared in the episode "Halloween of Horror".

This is the last season to be produced by Film Roman and the only season not to credit Sam Simon as producer for a few episodes due to his death in 2015.

Starting with the episode Paths of Glory (The Simpsons), which began a new production cycle, voice actresses Pamela Hayden and Tress MacNeille were given their own "Also Starring" credit.

On May 14, 2015, showrunner Al Jean announced that veteran Simpsons voice actor Harry Shearer had left the show to pursue other work after his contract expired. However, on July 7, he returned to the show after signing a new deal with five other cast members.

The season receives positive reviews. Episodes this season were nominated for two Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild of America Awards. The episode "Halloween of Horror" won the Annie Award for Best General Audience Animated Television Broadcast Production, and episodes this season were nominated for three other Annie Awards.

Main cast

 * Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, Itchy, Krusty the Clown, Sideshow Mel, Grampa Simpson, Hans Moleman, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Kodos, Rich Texan, Jasper Beardly, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Blue-Haired Lawyer and various others
 * Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Selma Bouvier, Patty Bouvier and Jacqueline Bouvier
 * Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Database, Kearney Zzyzwicz and various others
 * Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
 * Hank Azaria as Carl Carlson, Moe Szyslak, Julio, Chief Wiggum, Lou, Comic Book Guy, Superintendent Chalmers, Dr. Nick, Duffman, Cletus Spuckler, Disco Stu, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Wiseguy, Professor Frink, The Grumple, Kirk Van Houten, Snake, Bumblebee Man, Drederick Tatum, Old Jewish Man, Sea Captain, Luigi Risotto and various others
 * Harry Shearer as Dr. Hibbert, Ned Flanders, Lenny Leonard, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Scratchy, Principal Skinner, Otto Mann, Rainier Wolfcastle, Kang, Kent Brockman, Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon, Dewey Largo, Reverend Lovejoy, Judge Snyder, God and various others

Supporting cast

 * Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Janey Powell and various others
 * Tress MacNeille as Bernice Hibbert, Kumiko Albertson, Dolph Shapiro, Wendell Borton, Mrs. Muntz, Shauna Chalmers, Agnes Skinner, Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon, Brandine Spuckler, Cookie Kwan, Lewis, Lindsey Naegle and various others
 * Chris Edgerly as additional characters
 * Russi Taylor as Martin Prince, Üter Zörker, Sherri and Terri
 * Maggie Roswell as Luann Van Houten, Elizabeth Hoover, Helen Lovejoy and Maude Flanders

Production
This season and the next season were ordered in May 2015. Seven episodes were holdovers from the previous season. Executive producer Al Jean continued his role as primary showrunner, a role he had since the thirteenth season. Executive producer Matt Selman was also the showrunner for several episodes, a role he performed since the twenty-third season. Despite co-developer Sam Simon's death in March 2015, he retained executive producer credit in all episodes due to his agreement when he departed the series in 1993.

The same month, series regular Harry Shearer announced that he was departing the series. He cited scheduling flexibility as the reason. Jean stated that the characters he portrayed would not be retired and new actors would voice those roles. However, in July 2015, it was reported that Shearer was returning, signing the same contract as the other series regulars to remain through a potential thirtieth season.

The season featured the first episode written by Jeff Martin since the fifth season. It also featured the first episode written by Eric Horsted, who had previously written for creator Matt Groening's television series Futurama.

The penultimate episode of the season featured a live segment of Homer answering viewer questions. The real-time animation was handled with Adobe Character Animator, and lines of Homer talking about current events were used to prove the segment was live.

To promote the season, Jean stated that Homer and Marge would be separating. The news prompted posts on the internet regarding the couple's divorce, leading to Fox publishing a video of Homer and Marge reassuring viewers on the state of their marriage. Another promotional video featured Homer becoming a paid actor at the announcement of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Ratings
For the 2015-2016 television season, the season earned a 2.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which was the 42nd best performing show. It averaged 4.75 million viewers, which was the 102nd best performing show.

Critical response
Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the season a 7.2 of out 10. He thought that the season contained reused plots like most of the later seasons. However, he found that when the show featured episodes outside the normal structure, such as "Halloween of Horror" and "Barthood," it showed that it was still capable of humor and examination of family.

John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the season a 6.5 out of 10. He felt that the series was still relevant and that the producers can still take bold chances, such as the live segment. However, he also thought the season contains reused plots.

Awards and nominations
At the 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the episode "Halloween of Horror" was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program. Re-Recording mixers Mark Linden and Tara Paul were nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for the same episode.

Writers Carolyn Omine and Dan Greaney were nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for episodes written this season.

At the 43rd Annie Awards, the episode "Halloween of Horror" won for Best General Audience Animated Television Broadcast Production. The episode "Barthood" was nominated for the same award at the 44th Annie Awards. Greaney was nominated for Outstanding Achievement for Writing for his script for that episode. Writer Rob LaZebnik was nominated for the same award for his script for "The Burns Cage."