There's Something About Marrying

"There's Something About Marrying" is the tenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. In the episode, Springfield legalizes same-sex marriage to increase tourism. After becoming a minister, Homer starts to wed people to make money. Meanwhile, Marge's sister Patty comes out as a lesbian and reveals she is going to marry a woman named Veronica. The episode title is a play on the Farrelly brothers' 1998 romantic comedy There's Something About Mary.

This was the third time that an episode of The Simpsons focused on homosexuality. The episode—written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Nancy Kruse—was inspired by the 2004 same-sex weddings that occurred in San Francisco. According to executive producer Al Jean, the staff wanted the episode to explore what the different characters' stances on same-sex marriage were. Around the time of the episode's original airdate, February 20, 2005, the same-sex marriage question was a controversial political issue in the United States and the episode became controversial, leading to the episode receiving criticism from numerous conservative groups, including the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association. Positive reaction to the episode came from, among others, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the gay-oriented website AfterEllen, with negative reception to the episode from, amongst others, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the gay-oriented website LGBTQ Nation, who criticised the depiction of Veronica (a parody of trans pro golfer Mianne Bagger) as transphobic.

During the first airing, 10.5 million people watched "There's Something About Marrying" and it became the highest-rated episode of the season. The episode had received a lot of publicity in the media before its broadcast—not only because of the same-sex marriage controversy but also because of Patty's outing. It was revealed in July 2004 that a character would come out as gay in the episode, leading to much speculation from fans and the press. Bookmaker websites were even posting odds on which character it would be, with Patty receiving the best odds.