The Simpsons Airing First-Ever 60-Minute Episode This Season, Celebrity Voice Actors Revealed

The Simpsons is doing something it's never done before. Fox today announced that an upcoming episode of the long-running series will be 60 minutes long (including commercials), which is twice the length of normal episodes.

Empire's Taraji Henson and comedian Keegan-Michael Key will voice characters in the episode, Fox announced in a tweet.

The episode, titled "The Great Phatsby," will air in January 2017 as part of the show's 28th season. Riffing on another Fox show, Empire, the chapter will follow Mr. Burns as he "tries to relive his glory days, and crosses paths with a mysterious music mogul."

Michael-Key plays producer Jazzy James, while the mogul's ex-wife Paline is voiced by Henson. Jazzy James appears to be a reference to Terrence Howard's Empire character, Lucious Lyon.

"I just pray it won't be the last thing people see before a Trump inauguration," executive producer Al Jean in a statement, as reported by GameSpot sister site TVGuide.com. The 45th president of the United States will take office in January 2017.

In recent years, Fox has introduced a number of "firsts" for The Simpsons. Sideshow Bob finally killed Bart (during a Treehouse of Horror episode), while there was also a live segment featuring Homer.

In other news about The Simpsons, it was also announced today that Amy Schumer will voice three separate characters on one night for Fox's big-name animated shows. The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob's Burgers all return on September 25 for new seasons, and Schumer will have a role in each one.