"The Simpsons" will record its first hour-long episode after decades of being on air. "The Great Phatsby" will serve as a hip hop homage to the classic novel penned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby." Among the personalities invited for the season 28 episode are Snoop Dog, RZA and Common. The rappers are the latest stars announced to have their cartoon cameos on the episode.
The executive producer of "The Simpsons," Al Jean, teased the first hour-long special of the longtime running animated series last August. He also then said that the hardest part of creating the show's hour-long episode is coming up with a story that will catch the interest of the fandom for that long since normal episodes only run for around 20-24 minutes.
The production then came up with a good lineup of guests as cartoon cameos of prominent hip hop artists like Snoop Dog, RZA and Common are to appear on the special episode, and they will be joining Taraji P. Henson and Keegan-Michael Key. These veterans will voice cast themselves in a story that will feature the doomed friendship of Mr. Buns taking revenge on the mysterious hip hop mogul, Jay G.
"It's a tale of greed, excess, betrayal, revenge and ruthlessness," EP Matt Selman teased the episode's plot to EW. The EP also promised to deliver another level of humor although the episode is Gatbsy-inspired.
"We wanted the Mt. Rushmore of rap, and we got it," producer Dan Greaney of "The Simpsons" said on casting the hip hop artists. He expressed his confidence in their choice of guests, saying, "They represent different moods and different aspects of the history of hip-hop." Apart from the interesting cameo of several hip hop icons on the show, "The Great Phatsby" will also feature an original sound track written by Jim Beanz who also produces music for "Empire."
The special episode is set to air sometime in January with its exact schedule still unrevealed. As already mentioned, "The Great Phatsby" will serve as the first ever episode of "The Simpsons" which will run for one hour. In its 25 years of being aired on TV, the animated series only released one two-part episode entitled "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" It was, however, presented across two seasons.