The most shocking Simpsons episode ever aired 30 years ago today

The Simpsons episode Who Shot Mr Burns was released 30 years ago today (Picture: 20th Century Fox)

The Simpsons is renowned for referencing some of the most famous films and TV shows of all time.

From re-creating Springfield’s version of The Sopranos to The Shining and Thelma and Louise, viewers have been treated to a vast array of tasteful rip-offs.

But delving further into the cannon of Simpsons episodes and moving past the spooky Halloween storylines, the show’s writers created one of the most shocking episodes ever 30 years ago today.

Within the format of a ‘whoddunit’ mystery, Who Shot Mr Burns has continued to intrigue audiences still today.

After airing on May 21, 1995, the two-part episode was the final in series six of the animated show.

The first part began with Mr Burns stealing oil after it was found in Springfield Elementary School, bringing misery to the citizens.

The episode continues to be hugely popular amongst audiences (Picture: 20th Century Fox) It is renown for featuring one of the most insane twists in the series’ history(Picture: 20th Century Fox)

However, at the end, Mr Burns is shot by an unidentified assailant.

In part two, Springfield’s police try to find out who shot him, with the main suspects being Waylon Smithers and Homer Simpson.

Written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, the amazing twist (spoiler alert) was that Maggie Simpson shot Mr Burns.

Taking to Reddit to commemorate the episode’s 30th anniversary, fans still could not believe who was the killer.

Writing on a discussion page for the episode, TheCozyHorizon wrote: ‘This was so epic for the time… a murder mystery in real time of a family everyone watched.’

Theghostwhorocks added: ‘The hype was real. Everyone was talking about it in the summer leading up to the reveal.’

Malaclypse also said: ‘There is a tell in part one. When Burns turns up to the town meeting, he says “You all talk big, but who here has the guts to stop me?”

‘The camera pans around the crowd, and everyone’s eyes look away – except Maggie, who is at the bottom of the screen, staring daggers.’

Smithers was one of the main suspects in the episode (Picture: 20th Century Fox) Shockingly, it turns out that Maggie was the one who shot Mr Burns(Picture: 20th Century Fox)

DJWGibson responded to this comment, saying: ‘They did a lot of set-up and tells. It’s quite impressive.’

After the episode was put on Disney Plus, Oakley – who wrote the episode – said himself that it was ‘one of the best episodes to watch there’.

This comes after the replacement for a long-running Simpsons character was announced last week.

In 1989, Pamela Hayden joined the American animated series, voicing characters including Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones and Rod Flanders.

But in November 2024, after appearing in more than 700 episodes over 35 years, the 71-year-old revealed she was leaving the show.

‘The time has come for me to hang up my microphone, but how do I say goodbye to The Simpsons?……not easily,’ she shared in a statement.

Six months on, it’s now been revealed who will be replacing Hayden as Milhouse, best known for being Bart Simpson’s best friend.

The Simpsons is streaming on Disney Plus.

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