Podcast News

"Podcast News" is the sixth episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated sitcom "The Simpsons", and the 690th overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 15, 2020. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan, and written by David X. Cohen.
Morgan Fairchild, Christine Nangle, and Stellan Skarsgård all guest-star in the episode. In the episode, Grampa Simpson is accused of murder, and Kent Brockman creates a podcast about it.
It also received generally positive reviews, and was watched live in the United States by 3.50 million viewers.
The episode was dedicated in memory of Alex Trebek, who died on November 8, 2020.
Plot.
While Marge and Lisa become addicted to true crime podcasts, Homer and Bart go to visit Grampa at the Springfield Retirement Castle and find that he has a new girlfriend named Vivienne St. Charmaine, a former TV star.
Later, during a romantic getaway cruise, Vivienne is reported dead from a fall aboard the cruise ship, and Grampa – who does not remember what happened – is the top suspect. To try and stay relevant, Kent Brockman decides to create a podcast called "Guilty Grampa" that convinces Springfield, the family, and even Grampa himself that he is guilty of the crime.
Kent discovers that Vivienne had left all her money to Grampa in her life insurance policy, giving him a motive for murder. Grampa confesses and gets locked away in jail, though later, Dr. Hibbert reveals to the Simpsons that Vivienne is alive: he had been tracking both hers and Grampa's movements via GPS chips he had implanted during their colonoscopy, and she had faked her death and fled to a Mexican resort. Hibbert and the Simpsons then confront Kent with the information ahead of the "Guilty Grampa" live finale, and successfully pressure him to reveal the truth. Though Grampa is released from prison, he is upset as he believed that Vivienne was the last love of his life.
In the final scene, Grampa encounters Vivienne, who reminds them that he was supposed to meet her in Mexico with the insurance money as they had earlier planned. The pair decide to hide out unnoticed together in the Springfield Retirement Castle until the publicity of the case dies down.
Production.
The episode marked the first time that David X. Cohen had written an episode of the series since 1998. Morgan Fairchild and Christine Nangle appeared in the episode as Vivienne St. Charmaineas and Tabitha Shingle, respectively, while Stellan Skarsgård appeared as himself. Series regular Yeardley Smith, who voices Lisa Simpson, also appeared in the episode as herself, host of the podcast "Small Town Dicks". She is the third regular cast member to appear in animated form, the first being Harry Shearer who guest starred as Derek Smalls in the episode "The Otto Show" and the second being Dan Castellaneta who guest starred as himself in the episodes "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" and "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs". On 2020, Fox released eight promotional pictures from the episode.
Reception.
Viewing figures.
In the United States, the episode was watched live by 3.50 million viewers.
Critical response.
Tony Sokol with "Den of Geek" said, "'Podcast News,' named for the comedy drama "Broadcast News", is a good parody of the podcast craze. In spite of its similarity to 'Bad Homer,' the episode is very current, a little tricky, and comes at us from a different kind of angle. "The Simpsons" have given us stories about Abe’s shady pasts. He's been around almost longer than anyone but Monty Burns, so he has a lot more past to shade. It's to his credit, Abe can bear the weight of the blame, especially at his age. The most frightening concept of the episode, however, is the level of personal information can be gleaned from colonoscopy technology. Filled with singularly funny one liners, 'Podcast News' manages to keep a sense of tension throughout, and ends on a satisfying morally ambiguous note." He also gave the episode four out of five stars.