The latest episode of The Simpson's was a live-animation first.

Lapsed viewers of The Simpson’s could be excused for forgetting that the storied cartoon is still running. And as it enters its 27th season, the challenge faced by the show’s writers to keep it fresh and relevant must surely be a daunting one.

In an attempt to reinvigorate engagement with their generation spanning audience, Fox announced in February that they were creating an episode which would see animation and motion capture technology amalgamated to allow Homer Simpson to answer viewers questions.

That episode, aptly titled Simprovised, aired last night. At the end of the conventionally animated part Homer’s voice actor, Dan Castellanata, fielded questions from America’s East and West Coasts in an entirely improvised three-minute segment. He touched upon the U.S. presidential race, (endorsing Bernie Sanders), and Drake’s recent SNL performance.

The improvised segment was realised by utilising Adobe’s new Character Animator Software. The suite imports animator’s 2D illustrations from Photoshop and Illustrator and then maps the actor’s movements from a webcam.

This new technology means the gap between consumers and entertainment is being slowly bridged. Though the animators responsible for Simprovised were granted early access to the toolset used to create the episode, it will soon be shipped commercially, meaning that live animation could soon become commonplace.