Review: The Simpsons “Do the Wrong Thing”

Overview

Homer and Bart become kings of the blue-collar sports circuit, but Marge suspects something dishonest at the core of their father-son bond.

Our Take

The final episode of 2023 for The Simpsons and it’s a really well done romp about cheating at not-real sports and even a slight at the 2019 Varsity Blues scandal and while I would’ve liked to have seen the producers go a littler harder at those in the latter, I was perfectly content about seeing Homer and Bart go through a number of ESPN 8 “The Ocho”-esque leagues and the growth that is in fact coming up and down the dial of sports networks doing everything they can to stay relevant in an increasingly cord-cutting world.

The show also gets quality guest contributions from Ken Marino and Dan Patrick with the latter’s contribution being a tad more pronounced and possibly one of the funnier guest appearances for sports fans. Moreover, the show features a number of jokes at the expense of the Houston Astros, the probably-watching Middle America, and even the massive LiV deals happening by way of Saudi Arabia.

THIS is how I like my episodes of The Simpsons. Gag-heavy, with a point, though I would’ve liked to have heard some more names dropped, maybe additional drips of cynicism, but overall, we got a solid way to end the show for this year. Unfortunately, The Simpsons doesn’t return until mid-February, but this will give you some time to get that Hulu sub rocking until then.