Cue Detective
Cue Detective is the second episode of The Simpsons season 27. It aired on Fox on October 4, 2015. It was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by Joel H. Cohen. Guests include Alton Brown as himself, Bobby Moynihan as Tyler Boom, Edward James Olmos as Pit Master, and Ben Schwartz as Clerk.
Plot: Homer becomes a local cooking star after buying a powerful new smoker. His success brings a crowd to the Simpsons’ yard, and TV chef Scotty Boom challenges him to a smoke-off. Then Homer’s smoker is stolen. Bart and Lisa trace the thief to Nelson, who was paid to steal it by Scotty’s son Tyler to frame Scotty. Marge helps with a backup plan using a rented spice rack. Scotty is caught cheating and fired after his meat doesn’t match his usual style. Tyler confesses, Scotty and Tyler reconcile, and the smoker is returned. The Simpsons trade the smoker for a new washing machine. The episode ends as alien bee creatures take their hive back into space.
Reception: The episode drew about 6.02 million viewers and was the most-watched show on Fox that night. Critics were generally positive: Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave it a B−, calling it a solid, well‑told, old‑school Simpsons story. Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave it 3 out of 5 stars, noting it was an improvement over the previous episode but with some repeating jokes.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:55 (CET).