Kang and Kodos Johnson[1] are a duo of fictional recurring characters in the animated television series The Simpsons.

They are green, perpetually drooling, octopus-like aliens from the fictional planet Rigel VII and appear almost exclusively in the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes.

Kang and Kodos are often bent on the conquest of Earth and are usually seen working on sinister plans to invade and subjugate humanity.

[2] Lisa becomes suspicious of their intentions and accuses Kang and Kodos of wanting to eat the Simpson family upon finding a cookbook she believes to be called How to Cook Humans.

Kang and Kodos deny the accusation of wanting to eat them, revealing that they abducted the Simpsons in order to offer them paradise on Rigel VII.

Kang and Kodos's cameo appearances normally occur in the midst of segments, which will suddenly cut away to the duo.

[12] Kang and Kodos have made rare appearances in non-"Treehouse of Horror" episodes, such as "Behind the Laughter"[13] and "Gump Roast",[5] and had a non-speaking cameo in "The Springfield Files" on a line-up with other aliens.

The idea of Kang and Kodos came from Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, writers of "Hungry are the Damned".

Kang was a Klingon captain portrayed by actor Michael Ansara in "Day of the Dove", whereas Kodos the Executioner was a human villain from "The Conscience of the King".

[18] Traditionally, Kang and Kodos appeared in every single Treehouse of Horror episode as a part of a story's plotline or as cameos.

They almost did not make the cut in "Treehouse of Horror VIII", but David X. Cohen managed to persuade the producers to keep the scene.

[6] In The Simpsons: Tapped Out video game, Kodos, but not Kang, is sent on a mission that only female characters are allowed to complete.

In an interview after the episode aired, producer Al Jean confirmed that Kang and Kodos Johnson are "a gay female couple in their species".

In an attempt to collect new material for their failing reality TV show Foolish Earthlings, Kang and Kodos plan to drug Springfield with a mind-control serum distributed through their "New and Improved Buzz Cola" product.

After drinking the cola, the brainwashed people performed stupid stunts under the watchful view of wasp-like surveillance cameras, all for the sake of better ratings.

[29][30][31] Kang and Kodos also have a brief cameo in The Simpsons Ride with only Kodos speaking due to Harry Shearer declining to reprise his voice roles for the ride supposedly due to scheduling and availability conflicts as the cast recordings were scheduled during the production break between seasons, where voice actors would have time off.

In 2006, James Earl Jones, voice of Serak the Preparer in "Treehouse of Horror", was named seventh on IGN's "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances" list.