The Simpsons have been a part of American pop culture since 1989. The show has seen its up and downs with characters dying or moving on. Now it appears the town of Springfield is in for quite a shakeup. Simpsons producer Al Jean reports main characters, Homer and Marge Simpson, will “legally separate” in the upcoming season premiere in September.
In the premiere episode, it is discovered after all these years that Homer has narcolepsy, a chronic neurological disorder involving the loss of the brain’s ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles. The disorder puts an incredible strain on the pair’s marriage. Homer and Marge legally separate, and Homer falls in love with his pharmacist, who’s voiced by Lena Dunham. Jean told Variety, “we’ll have cameos from the other women from ‘Girls.'” Also, he didn’t state how long the couple would be separated.
Jean went on to say that Bart Simpson would die at the hands of his long time antagonist Sideshow Bob. The death will take place in the annual “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween special. The episode is not part of the show’s actual continuity. Which technically means, Bart is only dead for the one episode.
On Tuesday, The Simpsons’ marital problems were discussed on “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg pretended to be outraged over the news.
“What the hell?” she said. “Homer, what about a sister? In the time that I’ve seen you, I’ve never seen you with a black woman. Or maybe Marge is just a light-skinned sister and they haven’t said it. I don’t know.”
The show has sustained its share of woes behind the scenes. In March, co-creator Sam Simon passed away after a long battle with cancer. Last month, talented actor and voice over artist Harry Shearer, who voices Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders and many other important characters on The Simpsons announced he would be leaving the show after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract.
The new season of “The Simpsons” is scheduled to air on Fox on September 27th.
Sources: variety, huffingtonpost, wikipedia