March 15, 2019 The Simpsons esports episode is about to air.
Forget being enjoyed by millions of people around the world – esports is finally getting the mainstream recognition that it really needs. We already knew the Simpsons was going to feature an episode called ‘E My Sports,’ but now we know that episode is set to premiere this Sunday, March 17, and we’ve got some plot details as a result. (In a promising early detail, the press release gets the esports spelling correct.)
The official plot description goes that “as Bart begins to excel in video game competitions, Homer discovers a passion for coaching him; Lisa attempts to bring Homer back to reality, but the plan causes chaos.” Writer Al Jean tweeted an image of the episode’s fictional competitive game a few days ago. Titled ‘Conflict of Enemies,’ it looks a whole lot like League of Legends.
It should, because Riot Games was brought on board “to bring true authenticity to the script,” according to a press release. Those consultants include Whalen Rozelle and Jarred Kennedy, co-heads of esports at Riot, and LCS commentator David ‘Phreak’ Turley. They all “lent their expertise to ensure the experience depicted in the episode was authentic to the players, fans and coaches who compete professionally in League of Legends.”
In an appropriate international touch, this episode will apparently head to Korea, according to another tweet from Jean.
This is far from the the show’s first spoof take on modern gaming. In one episode, the Simpsons visit the ‘E4’ convention with a number of beloved games on the show floor such as Guts of War, World of KrustCraft, and Assassins Creed: Summer of Love. There is also an episode where Marge gets addicted to ‘Earthland Realms’ an MMORPG.
Related: Get competitive in the best multiplayer games on PC
Check out the League of Legends patch 9.6 notes if you’re looking for details more directly related to the game itself. Now I feel it’s only a matter of time before the crossover runs backwards, and League starts up its own long-running fictional animated show.