Marge and Homer Simpson will legally separate, and the goofy dad will fall in love with a character voiced by Lena Dunham in Season 27 of
"The Simpsons," executive producer Al Jean told Variety this week. Say it ain't so!
Jean told the celebrity publication that Homer and Marge's marriage will hit the skids when the new season starts. While Jean did not reveal whether the animated couple — voiced by Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner — will get back together, he did admit that Homer will fall for his pharmacist, who will be voiced by Dunham, creator and star of the hit HBO show "Girls."
But "The Simpsons" connection with Dunham’s show will not stop there.
"We'll have cameos from the other women from 'Girls,'" Jean said. "We have an episode coming up where Lisa befriends a homeless woman who turns out to be an incredible singer. The woman’s voiced by Kate McKinnon, but the singing is done by Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks)."
Additionally, "The Simpsons" will spoof the Academy Award-winning film "Boyhood" and Spider Pig and Sideshow Bob, voiced by Kelsey Grammer, will also make their returns.
The Marge and Homer separation storyline is just the latest plot twist in the long-running show many have considered as the standard-bearer in prime-time animation television shows.
"It's like what sci-fi fans say about 'Star Trek': it created an audience for that genre," Seth MacFarlane, the
creator of "Family Guy," told Vanity Fair in 2007. "I think 'The Simpsons' created an audience for prime-time animation that had not been there for many, many years. As far as I'm concerned, they basically re-invented the wheel. They created what is in many ways — you could classify it as — a wholly new medium. It's just wholly original."
Many on social media, though, bemoaned the fact that Homer and Marge are heading for Splitsville.