Over the course ofThe Simpsons' lengthy run, one of the long-running jokes is Waylon Smithers' undying love for his boss, Montgomery Burns, characters who are both voiced byHarry Shearer. While Smithers' sexual orientation has never been explicitly stated on the show, it has been inferred since the first season that Smithers is gay.The Simpsonsshowrunner and executive producerAl Jeanhas revealed in an interview withTV Linethat Smithers will finally reveal to Mr. Burns that he’s a homosexual inSeason 27.
“In Springfield now, most people know he’s gay, but obviously Burns doesn’t. We deal with that in two episodes. We actually do a lot with Smithers this year; he gets fed up with Burns not appreciating him and considers his options.”
Ironically, the long-runninganimated serieslostMr. Burnsand Smithers voice actorHarry Shearer, after a contract dispute in May, but he eventually rejoined theanimated seriesin early July. In an interview earlier this month withEntertainment Weekly,Al Jeanstated that Smithers has become fed up with Mr. Burns and falls in love with a character named Julio, voiced byHank Azaria, who has appeared in a number of episodes throughout the years. Here’s whatAl Jeanhad to say earlier this month.
“We have a show where Smithers realizes he’s never going to get what he wants from Burns so he quits and falls in love with somebody else. The someone else is a character thatHank [Azaria]has done on the show before, Julio, who is a little like his character from The Birdcage.”
Unfortunately,Al Jeanwouldn’t say when exactly these Smithers episodes will air, but the show certainly seems to be shaking things up a bit inSeason 27. The season kicked off last night withEvery Man’s Dream, where Homer and Marge briefly get separated. It has also been confirmed that the nefarious Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) will finally get to kill Bart Simpson in the show’s annual Treehouse of Horror episode, although Bart will be alive and well in the next episode. There will also be an episode inspired byBoyhood, and another episode where we get to see the home planet of aliens Kang and Kodos. What do you think about Smithers coming out as homosexual to Mr. Burns?
