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The Ten-Per-Cent Solution

“The Ten-Per-Cent Solution” is the eighth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 4, 2011. In the episode, Krusty the Clown becomes depressed after getting fired from his television show for being unpopular with children. The Simpson family encourages him to make a comeback, suggesting that he seek help from an agent they met earlier at a television museum. This agent turns out to be Annie Dubinsky, who was Krusty’s first agent and former girlfriend. Krusty left her when he became successful but now he begs her to take him as a client again. She accepts and together they are able to get him back on television, hosting a show for adults that features his clown tricks. However, Annie soon begins to interfere too much, which frustrates the network executives.

The episode, which contains parodies of films such as The King’s Speech, The Social Network, and Black Swan, was written by cast member Dan Castellaneta and his wife Deb Lacusta. Comedian and actress Joan Rivers, who is a big fan of The Simpsons, guest starred as the character Annie. Other guest performances in the episode came from Kevin Dillon and Janeane Garofalo as themselves and Jackie Mason as Krusty’s father. Reception of “The Ten-Per-Cent Solution” from television critics has been mixed, with praise directed at Rivers’ appearance and the development of Krusty’s character. The episode was criticized by the Parents Television Council for containing sexual dialogue. During its original American broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately nine million people.