Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36, episode 13, “The Last Man Expanding”
Homer considers taking a parody of Ozempic in The Simpsons season 36, episode 13, but this satirical story could feel familiar to fans of another adult animated comedy series, South Park. Over the years, The Simpsons has occasionally been accused of borrowing gags and storylines from other adult animated comedy shows like Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, and South Park. However, since The Simpsons is the longest-running scripted primetime American TV show in history, none of these borrowed jokes have caused any major controversy. After all, every show mentioned above counts The Simpsons as a formative influence.
While The Simpsons season 37 may change this, the show’s longevity and massive cultural import means few viewers or creators care when the series features an homage to another show’s episode. Of all the above-mentioned shows, South Park may have the least opprobrium toward the earlier, more family-friendly series. Although The Simpsons season 36 sidelined Bart in favor of other characters, South Park’s entire premise still owes a debt to the show’s initial focus on a foulmouthed, badly-behaved 10-year-old, and South Park has never hidden this fact.
The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 13 Borrows From South Park: The End of Obesity
Both Episodes Feature Fathers Using Ozempic and Their Hometowns Running Out Of The Drug
Over 20 years ago, South Park acknowledged and parodied their reliance on The Simpsons for inspiration with season 6, episode 7, “Simpsons Already Did It.” South Park and The Simpsons have a long history of borrowing from each other, so it should come as no surprise that The Simpsons season 36, episode 13, “The Last Man Expanding,” replicated the plot of 2024’s lone South Park outing, the feature-length special The End of Obesity. In that special, Stan’s father, Randy Marsh, began using the controversial weight-loss drug Ozempic.
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The Simpsons season 36 episode 12 continued a recent trend in the series that has reinvigorated one character’s stagnant story after 36 years.
In “The Last Man Expanding,” fellow bumbling suburban American father Homer Simpson was pushed to use “Othinkquik” by Marge and Bart, who were convinced it would improve his health outcomes and appearance. Both South Park and The Simpsons depicted the divisive drug as a potentially useful medication that was frequently abused, offering a broader critique of America’s for-profit healthcare system in the process. However, while The Simpsons season 36 solved a Homer mystery one episode earlier, the show did not commit to this story as much as South Park: The End of Obesity’s comparable plot.
How The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 13 Puts Its Spin On South Park’s Ozempic Plot
Homer’s Weight-Loss Journey Never Actually Happens
Although he came incredibly close, Homer never actually took Othinkquik in “The Last Man Expanding,” whereas South Park’s Randy very much used Ozempic. In a gruesome touch, South Park’s creators even provided the real-life injection sound effect, whereas Homer’s first injection was stopped by Marge’s last-second intervention. As the only overweight person left in Springfield, Homer was soon taken hostage by the townspeople who wanted to harvest his fat and inject it into themselves to regain a youthful appearance.
Randy’s absurd adventure is even more surreal than Homer’s ordeal.
In contrast, South Park: The End of Obesity’s storyline saw Randy join a Spring Breakers-style mob of mothers robbing drugstores to access Ozempic before he ran afoul of the sugary cereal mascots who were desperate to disrupt the drug’s supply chain. While The Simpsons often makes Homer the subject of mockery, Randy’s absurd adventure is even more surreal than Homer’s ordeal. Thus, The Simpsons season 36, episode 13 didn’t borrow too heavily from South Park’s similar setup.
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9/10
- Release Date
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December 17, 1989
- Network
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FOX
- Showrunner
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Al Jean
- Directors
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David Silverman, Jim Reardon, Mark Kirkland
- Writers
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Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Sam Simon