The Simpsonsseason 37 gets an intriguing tease from showrunner Matt Selman, who previews aReacherconnection. Parodying pop culture is integral toThe Simpsons. It’s arguably part of the show’s fabric, in a sense, considering the iconic image of the titular family gathered around a TV screen. The animated staple recently parodiedThe White Lotus, a breakout HBO dramedy.
The Simpsonsseason 37will keep the trend going with a send-up of Dad TV that’s arguably typified byReacher. Led by Alan Ritchson, who has since become a breakout star,Reacheris one of Prime Video’s biggest hits. Based on the novels by Lee Child, the series follows lone wolf Jack Reacher as he inevitably finds himself caught up in a dangerous conspiracy.
In an interview withScreenRant’s Brandon Zachary, Selman revealed thatHomer will become obsessed with aReacher-like show in season 37. In the quote below, the showrunner also previews Lisa getting popular and Bart doing a take on the acclaimed 1990s Coen brothers filmBarton Fink, and a riff on tech billionaires:
We have our season premiere, which is about Lisa getting sucked into the world of thrifting. If you want a fresh coat of paint on a “Lisa gets popular episode,” this show for you, I love it. I’m not trying to knock it, you know, we gotta repeat ourselves a little bit sometimes. I love this episode. It’s super funny. And the B-story is Homer gets addicted to a Reacher-type Dad TV show with lots of punching. That’s a Homer B story.
We have the Treehouse of Horror, we’ll talk about that a little more at Comic-Con. We have a big kind of a two hander with Bart and Professor Frink called Bart and Frink. The title is a parody of Barton Fink. We’ve done others like Bart the Fink, we should actually do an episode called “Bart-on blank” and every permutate we can think of. It kind of satirizes tech billionaire culture and the desire to be body-hacking, trying to stay alive forever, those techno guys.
What This Means For The Simpsons Season 37
Dad TV, as the name suggests, tends to refer to the kind of television that might best appeal to dads. Taking the example ofReacher, Ritchson’s character is generally unflappable and doesn’t tend to end up on the losing side of a fight. There is something about the dynamic, about the intentionally uncomplicated hero, which would understandably have its appeal.
What will be interesting to watch is how closely the B-plot, as Sellman describes it, sticks to the parody of one show.Reacheris hardly the onlyexample of Dad TV, though it may be the most notable. Even for Prime Video, which has established itself as the home of the action subgenre,Reacheris the most popular show among several.
Other dad shows includeJack Ryan,Alex Cross, andThe Terminal List,all of which are on Prime Video.
If the parody is specific to Jack Reacher, though, we may get some particular shoutouts to the Lee Child adaptation and a character that’s reminiscent of Ritchson. More details are likely to come out in the coming months, though.
Our Take On The Simpsons Season 37
The Show Attempts To Update Itself
Afterthe ending ofThe Simpsonsseason 36, which drew headlines for the non-canon death of Marge Simpson, the showrunner acknowledges that the long-running comedy is playing the hits. The hits do sound different, though, with time. Billionaires have been a frequent target onThe Simpsons, thoughthe tech aspect is a crucial variation. It will be worthwhile to see what it does with the variations.
