Bump the characters a year. Maggie is walking around, still not talking. Lisa is in with Crabapple now, Bart (somehow) moves on to a 5th-grade teacher to be named later (Dustin Hoffman isn’t committed to anything I’ve heard about…). Homer has the same damn job, Marge probably still has the same hairdo; something does change about both of these. Grandpa might die. Grandpa might move in with the family.

Make season 20 be the Summer Vacation season. Have running plots throughout the whole summer, many of which get dropped, warped or contradicted for an ironic nod to the fourth wall. Introduce a couple of characters, retire a couple. Next season, everyone is a year older.

Count on it, Patty and Waylon.