Back in 2012, Judd Apatow revealed that the first script he ever wrote was a 1990 Simpsons spec script about Homer acting like a 10-year-old kid again and becoming best friends with Bart after a hypnotist dies of a heart attack in the middle of performing on him. The news led to Simpsons producer Al Jean reaching out to Apatow to turn the script into a real episode, which finally airs on Fox this Sunday. Apatow told TV Guide that the script – titled “Bart’s New Friend†– was reworked from the original, which he wrote when he was 22:
It’s a pretty rough script — when I reread it I wasn’t exactly glowing with pride — but Al and the staff did their Simpsons magic on it. The whole process blew my mind. Sitting at the table read, listening to Dan Castellaneta [Homer], Julie Kavner [Marge], Nancy Cartwright [Bart] and Yeardley Smith [Lisa] putting their brilliant spin on something I wrote back when I was a dreamer, was one of the greatest days of my life. These are legends! It was as thrilling as if I’d been allowed to sit in on the making of The Honeymooners.
“Bart’s New Friend†airs on Fox Sunday night at 8:00pm.