I called an audible with this post. I had a themeless ready to go (themeless coming next week) but then when today's NYT puzzle ran, it reminded me of an old puzzle I had done. I dusted off the cobwebs and found this puzzle from 2014. I'm fairly certain I submitted this puzzle back in the day and it got rejected. Unfortunately my records on rejections/acceptances are spotty prior to 2017. I can see how my puzzle was rejected in that it's not a very tight theme set, there is no reveal phrase, etc. But I guess things have changed. I'm currently re-watching The Simpsons (one episode per day at lunch) so 62-across is fresh in my mind.
Anyway, I think the NE/SW corners are solid but there are a few items I would try to avoid if I were creating this puzzle today (see 13, 58, and 61-across; 4 and maybe 31-down).