Homer the Whopper

"Homer the Whopper"
The Simpsons episode
Promotional image featuring Homer as Everyman and Lyle McCarthy
Episode no.	442
Directed by	Lance Kramer
Written by	Seth Rogen Evan Goldberg
Showrunner(s)	Al Jean
Production code	LABF13
Original air date	September 27, 2009
Chalkboard gag	"The class hamster isn't just sleeping".
Couch gag	The Simpsons arrive at a subway station, where the subway doors open to reveal their living room.
Guest appearance(s)
Seth Rogen as Lyle McCarthy Matt Groening as himself Kevin Michael Richardson as the security guard
Season 21 episodes September 27, 2009 – May 23, 2010 "Homer the Whopper" "Bart Gets a 'Z'" "The Great Wife Hope" "Treehouse of Horror XX" "The Devil Wears Nada" "Pranks and Greens" "Rednecks and Broomsticks" "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" "Thursdays with Abie" "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" "Million Dollar Maybe" "Boy Meets Curl" "The Color Yellow" "Postcards from the Wedge" "Stealing First Base" "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" "American History X-cellent" "Chief of Hearts" "The Squirt and the Whale" "To Surveil with Love" "Moe Letter Blues" "The Bob Next Door" "Judge Me Tender"
Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Seth Rogen as Lyle McCarthy
Matt Groening as himself
Kevin Michael Richardson as the security guard

"Homer the Whopper" is the season premiere of The Simpsons' twenty-first season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 27, 2009. In the episode, Comic Book Guy creates a new superhero called Everyman who takes powers from other superheroes. Homer is cast as the lead in the film adaptation. To get Homer into shape, the movie studio hires a celebrity fitness trainer, Lyle McCarthy, to help him. Homer gets into great shape and is really excited, but when McCarthy leaves to train another client, he starts over-eating again and ultimately this leads to the film's failure.

The episode was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who are "obsessed" fans of the show, and directed by Lance Kramer. "Homer The Whopper" was intended to be a commentary on how Hollywood treats superhero films. Rogen also guest stars in the episode as the character Lyle McCarthy, making him the second guest star to both write an episode and appear in it; Ricky Gervais was the first. "Homer the Whopper" has received mixed reviews from television critics and acquired a Nielsen rating of 4.3 in its original broadcast.

Bart and Milhouse convince Comic Book Guy to publish a comic book he wrote titled Everyman, in which the title character can absorb superpowers from the characters of comic book he touches. The comic becomes an instant hit, and many Hollywood studios become interested in making it into a movie. Comic Book Guy agrees to let Everyman become a movie, but only if he can pick the star. When Comic Book Guy sees Homer, he considers Homer perfect for the role, as he wants Everyman to be played by a middle-aged fat man. But the studio executives realize that audiences want a physically fit actor for the role, so they hire celebrity fitness trainer Lyle McCarthy to get Homer into shape. After a month, Homer becomes fit and the movie begins production.