Stew Lies
| "Stew Lies" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 36 Episode 16 |
| Directed by | Debbie Bruce Mahan |
| Written by | Broti Gupta |
| Production code | 36ABF09 |
| Original air date | May 4, 2025 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "No booger is so perfect it 'demands to be flicked'" |
| Couch gag | A couch gag computer program is opened, and a window with the Simpsons is resized several times. The user attempts to delete Homer, but an error occurs. |
"Stew Lies" is the sixteenth episode of the thirty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 788th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 4, 2025. The episode was written by Broti Gupta and directed by Debbie Bruce Mahan.
In this episode, Homer and his favorite food show host get into trouble when the host reveals the recipe for Fat Tony's stew. John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche guest starred. The episode received positive reviews.
Plot
[edit]When Marge allows Lisa to sit in the front passenger car seat even though Bart claimed it, he begins to copy everything she says. Lisa asks Homer for help while he watches his favorite show Dude Vs. Food, hosted by Thad Parkour, in which he competes in food-eating challenges, so Homer ignores her. Over several months, Lisa uses the situation to teach Bart Mandarin and how to play the saxophone, and they bond with each other. Meanwhile, Homer learns that Thad is coming to shoot an episode of his show in Springfield. On the day of the challenge, Thad arrives sick and loses consciousness as the challenge begins.
Thad wants to end his career due to his health. Not wanting him to quit, Homer takes him to a place where all the odors from food made in Springfield converge. Thad smells the foods, which remind him of different times in his life and reignite his love of food. Thad smells something new, and they follow the odor to Fat Tony's house. He tells the story of his father, who kept the peace with the Prussian mob, headed by Wilhelm von Wonthelm, by exchanging sons. Wilhelm's oldest son, Maximillian, was not interested in the family business, so he began to favor Fat Tony. Wilhelm planned to pass the secret recipe for Stew of Violence to his son to initiate him into the mob, but he refused to go. Wilhelm suddenly died and gave the recipe to Fat Tony while Maximillian became head of the Prussian mob. Fat Tony lets Thad and Homer sample the stew. Later, a trailer for Thad's new show airs where he steals the secret recipes of food and reveals them on the show. The first episode is for the Stew of Violence. With his life in danger, Fat Tony throws Homer off a bridge into a river as revenge.
Using his phone, Homer texts Fat Tony a plan to save them, so he retrieves him. They go to the studio to threaten Thad, who secretly filmed the recipe with his sunglasses. The Prussians arrive to kill them, so they run to the location of the smell convergence. Maximillian smells the stew as the townsfolk cook it while the episode airs, and Homer says the town is honoring his father. Maximillian remembers when Wilhelm cooked it for him when he was sick and makes peace with Fat Tony.
Production
[edit]Fat Tony's recipe was created by chefs J. Kenji López-Alt and Deb Perelman.[1] The chefs appear in the episode on a poster for their podcast The Recipe with Kenji and Deb.[2]
John DiMaggio guest starred as Thad.[3] DiMaggio previously appeared on the series as Bender from the television series Futurama, created by Simpsons creator Matt Groening.[4] Mads Mikkelsen was announced to guest star as Wilhelm von Wonthelm but did not appear in the episode; Maurice LaMarche voiced the character instead.[3]
Cultural references
[edit]The episode title is a parody of the 1994 film True Lies.[5]
Reception
[edit]Viewing figures
[edit]The episode earned a 0.15 rating and was watched by 0.63 million viewers, which was the second-most watched show on Fox that night.[6]
Critical response
[edit]John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 7.5 out of 10. He thought the plot was not original but was a "fun gag", and he liked Bart and Lisa's subplot more. He also felt DiMaggio was playing Bender but with food references.[7]
Alex Reif of Laughing Place liked the story but thought the episode was not "particularly funny". He liked the commentary of chefs as television hosts and the rate in which food shows are produced. He also liked the episode had chalkboard and couch gags, which are generally absent in contemporary episodes.[5]
JM McNab of Cracked.com and Marisa Roffman of Give Me My Remote also highlighted Bart and Lisa's subplot.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ^ Struble, Cristine (May 2, 2025). "The Simpsons exclusive clip: Will the Gewalnteintopf food recipe topple the dude?". FoodSided. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ López-Alt, J. Kenji (May 2, 2025). "👀👀👀 Is this real life? First, @thesimpsons asked @debperelman and me to contribute a recipe for an upcoming episode. That was surreal. Then they told us we'd be appearing in the episode as cartoon versions of ourselves based on our podcast, The Recipe with @kenjianddeb. That was the kind of moment where you briefly exit your body and watch yourself agree to things from the ceiling. Then I saw the actual cel. At that point, I just accepted that reality is optional now. The episode airs this Sunday. I'll be watching, unless I wake up and none of this actually happened". Retrieved May 5, 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ a b "(SI-3609) "Stew Lies"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Evans, Bradford (July 22, 2013). "'The Simpsons' Will Host a 'Futurama' Crossover". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ a b Reif, Alex (May 4, 2025). "TV Recap/Review: Homer's Love of Food and TV Collide in New "The Simpsons" Episode with a Character Inspired by Guy Fieri". Laughing Place. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (May 7, 2025). "Sunday Ratings: Warriors-Rockets Game Seven on TNT Sports Draws Top NBA First-Round Cable Audience in 16 Years". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
- ^ Schwarz, John (May 5, 2025). "Review: The Simpsons "Stew Lies"". Bubbleblabber. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ McNab, JM (May 4, 2025). "'The Simpsons' Just Delivered One of its Most Heartwarming Episodes Ever". Cracked.com. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ Roffman, Marisa (May 5, 2025). "About Last Night…AMERICAN IDOL, THE EQUALIZER, THE LAST OF US, and More". Give Me My Remote. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
External links
[edit]- "Stew Lies" at IMDb
