• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, February 16, 2026

Philadelphians who caught Sunday night’s “Simpsons” on Fox got the surprise of a lifetime.

It was a full-blown salute to America’s most lovable city. It was so full of references to the city that it was a wonder the writers and producers of the show could fit it all into 22 minutes.

In the episode -- which happened to be this legendary TV show’s 800th -- Homer and Marge took a trip to the revered city of American liberty.

Once there, they came into contact with -- or breezed by -- so many of the city’s touchstone people, places and things that whoever was responsible for this episode had to be a native, which turned out to be true.

The principal writer on the episode was Christine Nangle, a native Philadelphian born and raised there, a Fox publicist confirmed. Nangle is a co-executive producer of “The Simpsons.”

She is also a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and U. Penn was seen on the side of a crew racing boat on the Schuylkill River passing by Philadelphia’s famed row of crew-team houses on the river’s west bank.

But that was only one of the mind-boggling number of references to the city where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed.

Where to begin? First of all, two guest voices were provided by natives Kevin Bacon and Quinta Brunson, and music was performed by native bands The Roots and Boyz To Men.

From the sign that welcomed the Simpsons to Philadelphia as Marge drove over the Ben Franklin Bridge -- “Welcome to Philadelphia: The Big Scrapple” -- to the Mütter Museum, the episode covered it all.

Homer had a culinary tour laid out for himself, including a cheesesteak at the confluence of Passyunk Avenue and South Ninth Street (photo above), and plans for a hoagie, soft pretzel, Tastykake and water ice.

He visited a Wawa, ran into a Mummers Parade, bought batteries to throw at opposing sports teams and took a selfie at the Rocky statue.

The plot of the episode spoofed the 2004 action-adventure movie “National Treasure,” in which Nicolas Cage searched for colonial-era treasure in and around Philadelphia landmarks, among other locations.

“The Simpsons” paid such close attention to detail that Homer himself even provided the exact address of the Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch Street. What else? A lot more. 

Although the episode ran on Fox Sunday night, Philadelphians and others who missed it can catch it on Hulu.