In an episode of The Simpsons that will air this week, Waylan Smithers – Mr. Burns’ assistant – will find love, and just in time for Thanksgiving.
Rob LaZebnik wrote Smithers’ coming out story back in 2016, and with the help of his gay son Jonny, he’s the writer behind this episode too.
In the ep, Smithers falls for a famous fashion designer – voiced by out actor Victor Garber – and as part of a whirlwind romance, the pair travel the world together.
“To be able to work with Johnny on this was, like, such a dream and to be able to see how truly funny and talented he is was just, you know, super fun and rewarding,” LaZebnik said. He also added that his son was the inspiration for the coming out episode.
“I know my dad is a comedy writer. I grew up with him — obviously, I know he’s a funny guy,” Johnny added. “But actually getting to sit down and write jokes with him was so much fun. And there were some moments where I was like, ‘Dad, that’s disgusting — we can’t put that on television,’ which I didn’t expect to be saying because I’m usually the disgusting one.”
“We now have this piece of content that we put into the world together that is a combined brainpower of the two of us.”
We love to see it!