Not All Simpsons Fans Were Impressed By The Out Of Date Ellen Parody In Season 34 Episode 4
Episode 4 of "The Simpsons" Season 34, titled "The King of Nice," focuses on the hectic daytime talk show "Krusty," which is a series created by Krusty the Clown (Dan Castellaneta) in an attempt to cash in on the success of "The Kelly Clarkson Show." Despite these references to Clarkson's show, Krusty's latest cash grab is a clear parody of "Ellen" and takes inspiration from the real-life controversy surrounding Ellen DeGeneres and the toxic workplace environment she and her producers allegedly created.
The episode sees Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner) joining "Krusty" as a segment producer and becoming utterly obsessed with crafting the perfect segment. As her obsession with the job grows, Marge transforms from a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed novice into an oppressive and arrogant boss who runs "Krusty" with an iron fist — a talent that eventually earns her another job for "The Drew Barrymore Show." The episode does an excellent job of lampooning the real-life drama surrounding "Ellen" and its traumatic workplace allegations, though it's worth mentioning there are plenty of fans online who found the entire episode woefully unfunny and outdated.
Fans say The Simpsons' Ellen parody came about two years too late
Although "The King of Nice" does a decent job of satirizing the alleged behind-the-scenes toxicity on "Ellen," many fans on social media still found this entire storyline to be extremely outdated. "An ellen parody? what is this, snl circa 2020?" wrote u/sleepyotter92. "This [episode] is horrible," echoed u/CrazyaboutSpongebob. "Ellen jokes 2 years too late."
Although some users were more lenient about these extremely outdated references to the "Ellen" controversies (explaining that it takes "about a year" for each episode to be completed from start to finish), others, such as u/i-pet-tiny-dogs, pointed out that the episode also includes several topical references to celebrity daytime talk shows, such as "The Kelly Clarkson Show."
As if this extremely outdated storyline wasn't enough, this isn't even the first time that "The Simpsons" had lampooned DeGeneres or her talk show, as the Season 32 episode "Yokel Hero" featured a rather blunt satire of "Ellen" named "The Elin Degenerous Show" — which saw Elin Degenerous (Tress MacNeille) removing her entire studio audience when they refused to obey her commands.
In any case, it's clear that many fans consider "The Simpsons" parody of "Ellen" to have come far too late after the real-life controversy surrounding the show, on top of the fact that the entire parody is retreading old ground from prior "The Simpsons" episodes.