The Simpsons' Apu is back after being cancelled a decade ago in race storm as replacement actor explains why he accepted the part now

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has had a speaking role in The Simpsons for the first time in almost a decade with a new actor voicing the character.

Apu has appeared in the long-running cartoon since 1990 and was originally voiced by Hank Azaria, who also voices a slew of other characters including Chief Wiggum, Moe Szyslak and Professor Frink.

However, in 2017 comedian Hari Kondabolu released a documentary titled The Problem With Apu, in which he discussed negative stereotypes of South Asians and how the character had impacted people's lives.

In response to the documentary, Azaria announced that he’d no longer be voicing Apu with his last speaking role in 2017.

Speaking on the Armchair Expert podcast in 2021, Azaria said: “I apologise for my part in creating that and participating in that.

“Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise. And sometimes I do.”

Since then Apu has still appeared in episodes of The Simpsons but only as a background character who doesn’t speak.

Until this evening, when the Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening aired and Apu had dialogue for the first time in almost a decade.

The character is now voiced by Indian-American actor Sunil Malhotra.

As well as Apu’s return, wife Manjula is also back, this time around voiced by Janina Gavankar.

The Simpson’s executive producer Matt Selman told Variety that the characters and their wider family will be on the show more often.

“We love this character, and wanted to bring him back in a smart, ‘Simpsons’-y way that allowed him to evolve,” Selman said.

“We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”

Meanwhile, Malhotra told the outlet that when he was initially contacted about the role he felt his ‘stomach sink’.

“But admittedly, part of me was also curious,” he continued.

“It had been eight years since Apu had spoken on the show, and it got me thinking: Did the writers’ room look different now? Could they bring him back in a way that acknowledged and apologised for past mistakes? Could I make the character my own, and reclaim him in some way? And could they achieve all of that in an unmistakably Simpsons way that didn’t disappoint fans?”

He went on to say that he was ready to ‘walk away’ if the writing hadn’t been right, revealing that he wasn’t willing for the character to ‘be the butt of the joke’.

Malhotra said he began engaging with showrunners for The Simpsons to find out more about their plans for Apu, which he said kicked off a ‘deeply collaborative experience’.

We’ll spare you any spoilers for the episode, but it heavily features Apu alongside some other cast members that haven’t been seen on screen for a while.

And fans are already happy to have the character back, with one writing on X: “The dumb smile I had on my face upon hearing Apu for the first time in over a decade. God, I missed him so much!”

Another wrote: “He really took a 10 year vow of silence just to drop the hardest comeback.”

Someone else said: “Almost a decade without a word and Apu is finally back. Springfield feels right again.”