The Sound of Bleeding Gums
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This article is about an upcoming episode. The article's contents may change as the episode approaches and more information becomes available. Please be cautious when adding information to this article, as rumors and speculation often get confused with fact. |
"The Sound of Bleeding Gums"
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Episode Information
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"The Sound of Bleeding Gums" is the 17th episode of season 33 of The Simpsons. It will air on April 10, 2022.[1][4][5][6]
Contents
Synopsis
- "Lisa meets the son of the late musician Bleeding Gums Murphy - and attempts to improve his life.[6][8]"
Lisa learns, that Monk Murphy was born deaf and wanted a cochlear implant. Lisa gets excited to help, only to be humbled, learning there are no limits to what he can do for himself.[9][10][11]
Production
The title of the episode was changed after the table read, it was called "Bleeding Gums Murphy in the Sound of Music".[4]
For the first time the show stars deaf and hearing-impaired voiceover actors. The Monk character is played by actor John Autry II, who is hearing impaired. The episode features a total of six deaf voice actors, also including comedian Kathy Buckley and three kids from the No Limits organization: Kaylee Arellano, Ian Mayorga and Hazel Lopez.[11][12]
The episode is inspired by the family of episode writer Loni Steele Sosthand. She has a brother, Eli Steele, who was born deaf. When they were talking about Bleeding Gums Murphy character in writer's initial brainstorms, the staff thought, wouldn’t it be cool if Lisa discovers this whole other side of his life. That led to him having a son, and then we based that character at least somewhat on Eli.[12]
Sosthand and her brother, Eli Steele, had previously developed a pilot based on their lives, featuring John Autry II. So when it came time to find someone to play Monk, Sosthand pitched Autry to exec producers James L. Brooks and Al Jean, who "very much got on board and saw what a gem he was“. The character has little personal moments from Loni and Eli's childhood but is also very much influenced by John.[12]
Autry lauded “The Simpsons” for hiring a deaf actor to play the role. “It’s so incredible,” he said of the gig. “It’s life-changing equality and participation. This can impact change for all of us. It’s about hard of hearing and hearing characters coming together. It’s a part of history.”[12]
Sosthand also sought her brother’s approval while writing the script, which includes a scene where Bleeding Gums discovers his son his deaf — patterned after how Sosthand’s parents discovered Eli was hearing impaired. Eli also voices a part in the episode.[12]
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Al Jean's Twitter - "The Sound of Bleeding Gums"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michael Price's Twitter - "The Sound of Bleeding Gums script writer"
- ↑ Michael Price's Twitter - "The Sound of Bleeding Gums script title changing"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Al Jean's Twitter - "The Sound of Bleeding Gums title change and director"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Al Jean's Twitter - "The Sound of Bleeding Gums air date and final episodes air dates"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 FutonCritic - "The Sound of Bleeding Gums"
- ↑ Michael Price's Twitter - "Al Jean and Matt Selman showrunner"
- ↑ Michael Price's Twitter - "Bleeding Gums Murphy in the Sound of Music synopsis"
- ↑ The Simpsons' Twitter - "Answering the Questions about The Simpsons"
- ↑ Al Jean's Twitter - "Deaf character episode coming in April"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 'The Simpsons' features first episode with deaf voice actors
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Variety - ‘The Simpsons’ Makes History With First Deaf Voice Actor and Use of American Sign Language (EXCLUSIVE)
