 " Cutbacks " was written by series supervising producer Matt Hubbard , making it his seventh writing credit after " The Rural Juror " , " Hard Ball " , " The Collection " , " MILF Island " , " Reunion " , and " Larry King " . The episode was directed by Gail Mancuso , making it her sixth for the series . " Cutbacks " originally aired in the United States on April 9 , 2009 , on NBC as the seventeenth episode of the show 's third season and the 53rd overall episode of the series . 
