Excellent! Homer Simpson takes it upon himself to play matchmaker when Waylon Smithers comes out as gay in The Simpsons‘ Sunday, April 3, episode.
The venerable Fox series’ new episode centers on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant’s executive assistant coming out as gay to his boss, Mr. Burns, who rebuffs his advances. Homer nobly takes it upon himself to help his coworker find Mr. Right.
“Can I get you a Tom Collins?” Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) offers Smithers (Harry Shearer) in a sneak-peek clip. As it turns out, the lovable family man is referring not to the cocktail but to an actual guy by that name.
“I see what’s going on here,” Smithers replies. “Fix up your boss so he won’t be so hard on you. Well, nice try!”
Sunday’s season 27 episode is highly anticipated among the Emmy-winning series’ fans. Previous episodes have suggested that the purple bow tie–loving character is gay, and he has had numerous fantasies about Mr. Burns, although Smithers has remained in the closet until now.
The episode’s writer, Rob LaZebnik, told the New York Post that the idea for the episode came to him several years ago as a show of support for his 21-year-old son, Johnny, who is gay.
“I am a Midwestern guy, so I don’t tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve, but I thought, What better way to tell my son I love him than to write a cartoon about it?” Rob said.
Watch the clip in the video above to see a cameo by a TV icon, who is also a gay-rights activist.
The Simpsons airs on Fox on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
