“The Simpsons” will feature a deaf actor for the first time in its 722-episode run on Sunday.
The new episode, The Sound of Bleeding Gums, focuses on Lisa Simpson as she discovers that her hero and favorite musician, the late saxophonist Bleeding Gums Murphy, has a son who is deaf and needs a cochlear implant.
Bleeding Gums (voiced primarily by Ron Taylor) died in the Season 6 episode “Round Springfield” which aired in 1995. His son Monk is voiced by John Autry II.
Clips from “The Simpsons” are seen at the celebration of the series’ 600th episode at YouTube Space LA on October 14, 2016 in Los Angeles.Rodin Eckenroth via Getty Images
The storyline for Sunday’s episode was spearheaded by show writer Loni Steele Sosthand, whose brother Eli Steele is deaf, CNN reported.
Although people in the “Simpsons” world only have four fingers on one hand, they subsequently use American Sign Language.
The producers consulted with two ASL specialists about the characters the characters would use, Sosthand told CNN. The specialists looked at early versions of the episode’s visuals to ensure the four-fingered signature was still understandable.
“It was a bit tricky, especially because the only thing we’re translating is Shakespeare,” Sosthand told Variety. “But I think we made it.”
The groundbreaking episode comes two weeks after CODA won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. CODA stands for “Child of Deaf Adults,” and the film, written and directed by Sian Heder, is about a teenage girl navigating life while growing up as the only hearing member of her family.
Simpsons Executive Producer Al Jean noted on Twitter The fact that Thursday’s episode aired so soon after CODA’s win is just a coincidence.
.@The simpsons And no, we didn’t make this episode from scratch in two weeks after Coda won the Best Picture award. Kudos to guest star @johnautryll Director Chris Clements and most notably author Loni Steele Sosthand.
— Al Jean (@AlJean) April 7, 2022