'Under the Dome' to give 'Simpsons' shout-out

The Simpsons type TV Show network Fox genre Animated Where to watch Close Streaming Options

The Simpsons did it!

But Stephen King thought it up first — the whole giant-transparent-dome-traps-small-town plot device.

Now CBS’ upcoming series adaptation of King’s Under the Dome is going to give the Fox animated hit a shout-out in return.

The backstory: King originally began work on his sprawling eco-parable bestseller in 1976, then shelved the project for a couple decades before picking it up again and ultimately publishing the novel in 2009. In the meantime, 20th Century Fox released The Simpsons Movie in 2007 with a broadly comic take on the same concept. Fox’s series The Simpsons then mocked the coincidence in a 2010 episode where Monty Burns begins to seal Springfield with a giant dome while brandishing a copy of King’s book before realizing this has already been done once before.

Now the upcoming series version of Under the Dome will throw a reference back to The Simpsons in its third episode. “We do make a reference to The Simpsons Movie,” showrunner Neal Baer told EW. “We have a ‘recharge party’ in episode 3 and the kids are watching it.”

There won’t be actual footage of the film in the scene, but it’s definitely in the script. “We make a verbal reference,” Baer teases.

Under the Dome descends on CBS on June 24.

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