OJ-simpson-parole

Sunday night, Fox will premiere its ill-advised O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession? special, in which he supposedly goes through the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman “hypothetically,” explaining how he would have committed those crimes if he had done them.

Fox thought it was a bad idea to air this interview 12 years ago, but apparently had a change of heart in the name of ratings (taking on ABC’s revival of an old Fox property, American Idol) or a misguided rationale that some kind of statute of limitations has passed now that Simpson has been released from prison.

However, one interesting story has come from Fox deciding to air this special — and on March 11, in particular. Al Jean, showrunner for The Simpsons, revealed on Twitter that the O.J. special will broadcast 25 years to the day after the Simpsons episode that would have featured Simpson as a guest-star originally aired. On March 11, 1993, “Last Exit to Springfield” aired on Fox and producers initially wanted Simpson to make an appearance on the episode, but he declined the offer.

In the episode, Homer Simpson becomes president of the Springfield power plant union and leads the workers on a strike to get back their dental plan (which would pay for Lisa’s braces). What role O.J. would have played in the episode isn’t clear and Jean didn’t offer any explanation in response to his initial tweet. But Dr. Joyce Brothers made a guest appearance in the episode (hey, it was 25 years ago) as a guest on Kent Brockman’s show “Smartline.” Is that where we would’ve seen O.J.?

Jean did express relief that Simpson turned the offer down, which certainly looks better 25 years later. Actually, it looked like a good decision just over a year later, when Simpson was arrested and charged for the murders of Brown and Goldman. “Last Exit to Springfield” would have lived in infamy had Simpson appeared on that episode and performed any sort of comedy a year before he committed the crimes for which he was inexplicably acquitted.

You can watch “Last Exit to Springfield” on FXX’s “Simpsons World” portal or app. And if you must watch, O.J. Simpson: The Last Confession airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.

[The Hollywood Reporter]

About Ian Casselberry

Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.