It looks like Waylon Smithers Jr., the assistant to billionaire Montgomery Burns on The Simpsons, might find his fairytale ending.
Smithers, who is gay, is set to explore a same-sex relationship in an upcoming episode of the long-running animated Fox series.
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Who’s Waylon Smithers Jr. New Boyfriend?
Longtime series writer Rob LaZebnik and his son Johnny LaZebnik wrote the episode “Portrait Of A Lackey On Fire,” which is set to come out November 21st. The episode’s synopsis says, “Smithers finds true love with a famous fashion designer, but will his new relationship destroy Springfield?”
“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,” Johnny LaZebnik told the New York Post.
That's all Smithers needed, Burns. #TheSimpsons pic.twitter.com/ycrnoc9jcx
— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) April 4, 2016
“So often, gay romances are a subplot or alluded to or shown in some kind of montage or as a punchline,” he admitted. “That was really special to me to get to highlight characters who are not punchlines, who are fully formed.”
Smithers has won the day. ???? #TheSimpsons pic.twitter.com/8G70LtKe1u
— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) May 8, 2017
Gay actor Victor Garber is voicing Smithers’ lover, Michael De Graaf.
Garber says it’s “crucially important that these stories are acknowledged.” He added playing a gay character “brings back certain feelings I had as a young actor where I couldn’t be gay.”
He also said voicing Graaf “was kind of a reminder of how much things have changed and also how I’ve evolved.”
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Smithers came out in an episode in season 27 after years of showrunners alluding to him being a part of the LGBTQ community. Either way, we’re just happy Smithers is finally finding love!
You can tune in to The Simpsons on Sundays at 8 p.m. on Fox.
