PORTLANDIA Duo Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein Heading to THE SIMPSONS

Frankly, not one episode of The Simpsons, other than my annual viewing of The Treehouse of Terror has gotten my attention. Until now. TV Line has word that Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, the dynamic duo who brings the funny on IFC’s sketch comedy series Portlandia will provide their voices to an episode of The Simpsons. Normally guest stars like that wouldn’t get me all that excited, but their involvement is essentially a cross over of their live-action characters from Portlandia into the animated world of Springfield. The episode entitled The Day the Girls Stayed Cool will see Armisen and Brownstein playing part of a “cool” family that moves from Portland to Springfield and becomes the Simpsons’ new neighbors. Homer desperately tries to befriend them, but Marge is skeptical that being cool isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We probably have series creator Matt Groening, a Portland native, to thank for this bit of genius. The episode will air sometime in the show’s 24th season later this fall.