The Simpsons to air first ever live episode

A scene from the TV show The Simpson. Photo / Fox

The Simpsons will air its first ever live episode in May.

The final three minutes of the animated sitcom's May 15 episode will see patriarch Homer Simpson appear live with Dan Castellaneta, who voices the beer guzzling factory worker, expressing the character's opinions on current affairs with the use of motion capture technology.

At the end of the episode, Marge, Lisa and Bart Simpson will hand over to Homer, who will discuss the real-life goings-on in the world that day.

Executive producer Al Jean admitted Fox will find some creative ways to "prove" that Homer's three-minute segment is live, and is confident Dan can pull it off because he is a "great improviser".

Homer to appear live on #TheSimpsons May 15! Read on for details: https://t.co/gGnpQcdO0d pic.twitter.com/bZXHA0CLLz

— TheSimpsons (@TheSimpsons) February 16, 2016

He told The Wrap: "It looks great. I'm really confident that people will like it.

"I think this is a first for animation."

This will be a first for the show, which has been running for 27 years.

One topic the producer expects to come up on the day is that of US Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

He said: "With Trump, I'm sure he'll do something that day to merit [mentioning]."

While Al insisted the idea has been talked about for "quite some time", he admitted there was some inspiration taken from Fox's recent Grease: Live TV special.

The live episode of The Simpsons will air Sunday, May 15 at 8/7c on Fox.

- Bang! Showbiz