I thought last season of The Simpsons was one of the best in years, executive producer Al Jean says I’m wrong…“I think this upcoming season is our best in years”. The 21st season will begin on September 27th with “Homer The Whopper” written by Evan Goldberg and Rogen. Comic Book Guy casts Homer as the lead in “Everyman”, a feature film based on the new comic book superhero he created. To whip him into shape for the part, the movie studio hires celebrity fitness trainer Lyle McCarthy (guest voice Seth Rogen) but Homer has trouble with his new, healthy regimen.
Fact. Rogen and Ricky Gervais are the only people outside of the show’s staff to write a script for an episode.The writing gig came about after Goldberg met Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks and learned he was a fan of Superbad, which Rogen and Goldberg wrote. They are “obsessed” with The Simpsons— “the funniest single thing ever created,” Rogen says — and decided it would be fun to write an episode. “We knew Ricky Gervais had written an episode. We thought if he got to write one, maybe we could try”.
Doing a voice was a bonus, he says. “In one scene, it’s just me and Dan Castellaneta talking to each other. All I could think of was, ‘I’m acting with Homer right now.’ It was the most surreal, amazing experience.”
Rogen is one of many stars who will be doing voices for the show, which this season surpasses the Gunsmoke record for most seasons for a scripted prime-time series. Other guests include the Smothers Brothers and Manning brothers (Peyton, Eli and Cooper) in an episode about brothers; Anne Hathaway as an actress who plays a princess character on Krusty the Clown’s show (“It’s an Audrey Hepburn-style romance,” executive producer Al Jean says); Sarah Silverman as a girl Bart likes who loves him, then hates him; and Jonah Hill as a guy who was like Bart 10 years ago and, at 20, still is. [usatoday]
Tags: ricky gervais, seth rogen, the simpsons
