| "Podcast News" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 32 Episode 6 | ||
| Directed by | Matthew Faughnan | ||
| Written by | David X. Cohen[1] | ||
| Production code | ZABF22[2] | ||
| Original air date | November 15, 2020 (2020-11-15) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| The Simpsonsseason 32 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Podcast News" is the sixth episode of thethirty-second season of the American animated television seriesThe Simpsons. It originally aired on theFox network in the United States on November 15, 2020.[1] In the episode,Grampa Simpson is accused of murdering his girlfriend, andKent Brockman creates a podcast about it. Brockman's podcast is able to convince the town that Grampa was guilty of the crime, including Grampa himself, who confesses to the police. However, after the discovery that Grampa's girlfriend is still alive, he is exonerated and set free.
"Podcast News" was directed byMatthew Faughnan and written byDavid X. Cohen. The episode marked the first time that Cohen had written for the series since 1998. The episode guest starsMorgan Fairchild as Grampa's girlfriend, Christine Nangle as Tabitha Shingle, andStellan Skarsgård as himself.[1] Series cast memberYeardley Smith, who voicesLisa Simpson, also makes an appearance as herself in the episode. "Podcast News" features numerous references to real-life podcasts, includingDoughboys,Serial, andMy Favorite Murder. The title of the episode is a reference to the filmBroadcast News.
In its original broadcast, "Podcast News" was watched live in the United States by 3.50 million viewers. It generally received positive reviews from television critics.
The episode was dedicated in memory ofAlex Trebek, who died on November 8, 2020.[3]
WhileMarge andLisa become addicted to true crime podcasts,Homer andBart go to visitGrampa at the Springfield Retirement Castle and find that he has a new girlfriend named Vivienne St. Charmaine, a former TV star.
Later, during a romantic getaway cruise, Vivienne is reported dead from a fall aboard the cruise ship, and Grampa, who does not remember what happened, is the top suspect. After noticing the popularity ofpodcasts inSpringfield,Kent Brockman decides to create a podcast calledGuilty Grampa about the incident in order to stay relevant. The podcast convinces Springfield, theSimpson family, and even Grampa himself that he is guilty of the crime.
Kent discovers that Vivienne had left all her money to Grampa in her life insurance policy, giving him a motive for murder. Grampa confesses and gets locked away in jail, though later,Dr. Hibbert reveals to the Simpsons that Vivienne is alive: he had been tracking both hers and Grampa's movements via GPS chips he had implanted during their colonoscopy, and she had faked her death and fled to a Mexican resort. Hibbert and the Simpsons then confront Kent with the information ahead of theGuilty Grampa live finale, and successfully pressure him to reveal the truth. Though Grampa is released from prison, he is upset as he believed that Vivienne was the last love of his life.
In the final scene, Grampa encounters Vivienne, who reminds him that he was supposed to meet her in Mexico with the insurance money as they had earlier planned. The pair decide to hide out unnoticed together in the Springfield Retirement Castle until the publicity of the case dies down.
"Podcast News" was directed byMatthew Faughnan and written byDavid X. Cohen.[1][4] The episode marked the first time that Cohen had written an episode of the series since 1998, when he wrote the "Starship Poopers" segment of "Treehouse of Horror IX."[5][6]
The episode featured multiple guest appearances. ActressMorgan Fairchild appeared in the episode as Grampa's girlfriend Vivienne St. Charmaine.[7] Christine Nangle, a writer forThe Simpsons, appeared as podcaster Tabitha Shingle.[8] Swedish actorStellan Skarsgård appeared as himself.[1][9] Series regularYeardley Smith, who voicesLisa Simpson, also appeared in the episode as herself, host of the podcastSmall Town Dicks.[6][10] She is the third regular cast member to appear in animated form, the first beingHarry Shearer, who guest starred asDerek Smalls in the episode "The Otto Show", and the second beingDan Castellaneta, who guest starred as himself in the episodes "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" and "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs".
Podcaster and sports analystBill Simmons was originally scheduled to have a guest appearance in the episode as himself,[1] however, he never appeared in the episode.
Singer and songwriterBillie Eilish was originally supposed to sing the intro music to theGuilty Grampa podcast, however, her appearance was cut for time, and the staff of the show never reached out to her about the part.[11]
In 2020,Fox released eight promotional pictures from the episode.[12]
The title of the episode is an allusion to the1987 filmBroadcast News, which was written, produced and directed byJames L. Brooks, one of the developers ofThe Simpsons.[13]
The restaurant in the episode, Streami's, features the hosts ofMatt Selman's favorite podcasts, includingMichael Lombardi fromThe GM Shuffle,Karina Longworth fromYou Must Remember This, andNick Wiger andMike Mitchell ofDoughboys.[14] Additionally, the wall of the restaurant features caricatures ofDesus Nice andThe Kid Mero ofBodega Boys,Sarah Koenig ofSerial,Dan Carlin ofHardcore History, andKaren Kilgariff andGeorgia Hardstark ofMy Favorite Murder.[15]
"Podcast News" was dedicated toAlex Trebek, the longtime host ofJeopardy! who died on November 8, 2020, a week before the episode's first airing.[3]
"Podcast News" originally aired on theFox network on November 15, 2020, from 8:00 to 8:31 p.m.[1] In the United States, the episode was watched live by 3.50 million viewers.[16]
Tony Sokol withDen of Geek said, "'Podcast News,' named for the comedy dramaBroadcast News, is a good parody of the podcast craze. In spite of its similarity to 'Bad Homer,' the episode is very current, a little tricky, and comes at us from a different kind of angle.The Simpsons have given us stories about Abe’s shady pasts. He's been around almost longer than anyone but Monty Burns, so he has a lot more past to shade. It's to his credit, Abe can bear the weight of the blame, especially at his age. The most frightening concept of the episode, however, is the level of personal information can be gleaned from colonoscopy technology. Filled with singularly funny one liners, 'Podcast News' manages to keep a sense of tension throughout, and ends on a satisfying morally ambiguous note." He also gave the episode four out of five stars.[13]
Jesse Bereta ofBubbleblabber gave the episode an 8.5 out of 10. He hightlighted the murder mystery theme and the appearance of Yeardley Smith as herself. He thought that writer David X. Cohen "exceeded the expectations," and the episode was reminiscent of episodes from the 1990s.[17]
