There’s an update about the love life of a beloved character on The Simpsons!
Waylan Smithers, the longtime employee of Mr. Burns, is no longer single, the New York Post reported.
In an upcoming episode in Season 33, Smithers will fall in love with billionaire Michael de Graaf.
“I think it’s crucially important that these stories are acknowledged. I haven’t played a lot of gay characters, but every time I do it, it brings back certain feelings I had as a young actor where I couldn’t be gay,” says Victor Garber, who voices the billionaire.
The writers finally made Smithers’ sexuality public in a 2016 episode, in which he came out as gay. The story was written by Rob LaZebnik, who said that the story was inspired by his son Johnny, who is gay. They also co-wrote the upcoming love story.
“So often, gay romances are a subplot or alluded to or shown 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 date, how they meet, what it’s like. That was really special to me to get to highlight characters who are not punchlines, who are fully formed,” Johnny said.
This Thanksgiving episode of The Simpsons will air on November 21.
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