| "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 23 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore |
| Written by | Marc Wilmore |
| Production code | PABF09[1] |
| Original air date | March 4, 2012 |
| Guest appearances | |
| Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Kenny Scharf, Robbie Conal as themselves Nicholas McKaig performs over the closing credits | |
| Episode features | |
| Couch gag | A spoof of the Game of Thrones opening sequence. |
"Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 501st episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 4, 2012. In the episode, Bart is punished by Homer after letting a rabbit loose in the house. He gets revenge on his father by spray-painting images of him with the word "dope" all over Springfield. Street artist Shepard Fairey encounters Bart one night and offers him a gallery show of Bart's artworks. However, Chief Wiggum suddenly appears during the show and arrests Bart for covering the town in graffiti. It turns out that Fairey is an undercover officer working for Wiggum.
The episode references the 2010 street art documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop by graffiti artist Banksy, and features guest appearances from street artists Ron English, Kenny Scharf, and Robbie Conal as themselves. Fairey, who is a long-time fan of The Simpsons, also guest starred in the episode as himself.
Around 5.09 million Americans tuned in to watch "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" during its original broadcast.
Since then, the episode has received praise from television critics for its opening sequence, which parodies the opening sequence of the medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones.