The Simpsons has cleared up a mystery that has had viewers scratching their heads for 35 years.
The Simpsons is probably the most successful animated series of all time, and its longevity attests to that.
Throughout the years, viewers have had many mysteries to sink their teeth into - like who shot Mr Burns?
While we now know that Maggie was the culprit (that's a spoiler from 20 years ago), the series still has some long-running mysteries.
Like, how on earth has Homer kept his job at the power plant despite making many serious mistakes that would normally be sackable offenses?
But now, in an episode titled Shoddy Heat, fans finally got the reveal they’ve been waiting for since 1989.
In the episode, it’s revealed that Grandpa Abe Simpson and Mr. Burns struck a secret deal that secured Homer’s job for life.
The backstory shows that Abe, who apparently worked as a detective in the 1980s, became suspicious when his partner Billy O’Donnell (voiced by Topher Grace) went missing while investigating Mr. Burns.
When Abe tried to uncover the truth, Burns implied that O’Donnell had taken a one-way trip to “paradise,” and offered Abe a deal: if he dropped the investigation, Homer would get a guaranteed job at the Power Plant for the rest of his life.
Despite Abe’s fear about how Homer would react to the truth decades later, Homer is relieved - and even happy - to know that he can never lose his job, thanking his dad for keeping the secret for so long.
Showrunner and executive producer Al Jean had teased the reveal on X ahead of the episode, posting: “This Sunday a new @TheSimpsons will solve a mystery that has puzzled (me at least) since the beginning of the show…”
He also shared a photo of two brunette characters holding shaved ice cups, which left fans guessing about which mystery would finally be solved.
The big reveal comes after The Simpsons recently had fans worried it was ending for good when the latest season opened with an episode framed as a “series finale.”
The episode included an animated version of former Simpsons writer Conan O’Brien claiming: “Fox has decided to end the Simpsons.”
Thankfully, it was all a prank, and The Simpsons doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.
The first episode of the new season had been teased as “the episode fans have waited for since 1989,” with promises it would “shake the foundation of the show.”
Although the finale scare turned out to be fake, fans got a genuine foundation-shaking reveal with the truth about Homer’s job.