The Simpsons iconic gay character Waylon Smithers may finally find love, with the sidekick of Mr Burns reportedly getting his first boyfriend in an upcoming episode.
Despite having an obvious crush on his boss since the series first debuted in 1989, Smithers didn’t officially come out until the 2016 episode – ‘The Burns Cage’, when he admitted his true feeling to Mr Burns.
Speaking about the upcoming episode with the New York Post, writer Rob LaZebnik says the historic moment is a biggy for the show, and also a big moment for himself who adds that his gay son Johnny, inspired Smithers’ coming out episode.
“Sometimes TV can have a real impact on people’s thinking,” Rob says while adding that his son Johnny highlighted to him how important it was to put a gay romance front and centre of the episode, as so often LGBTQ+ romantic storylines are “subplot or alluded to or show in some kind of montage or as a punchline.”
“And what I think I was really excited about, with this episode, we get to see – without spoiling too much – the beginning, middle and who knows how it ends of a gay relationship, of really getting into the nitty-gritty of how gay people gate, how they meet, what it’s like,” he explained.
“That was really special to me to get to highlight characters who are not punchlines, who are fully formed.”
The Simpsons first aired on 17 December 1989 and is now in its 33rd season.
Last Updated on Nov 15, 2021
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