The Simpsons Brings Back Apu With New Voice

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon spoke again on The Simpsons for the first time since October 2017 in the Season 38 episode The Revengening, which aired Oct. 18/19, 2026 on Fox. Indian-American actor Sunil Malhotra took over the role Hank Azaria had voiced for close to 30 years. Azaria stepped away after criticism of the portrayal and Hari Kondabolu's 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu; Azaria apologized in 2021. Janina Gavankar now voices Apu's wife, Manjula. Variety reported the episode was not screened for critics and that the table read and production were kept secret. The 2018 episode No Good Read Goes Unpunished had briefly addressed the controversy. In the episode, a prelude to Treehouse of Horror that draws on the Scream movies, Apu appears as a mysterious figure, then wakes from a nightmare storyline back at the Kwik-E-Mart and is invited by Homer to a Halloween party. Malhotra said when his agent called about a Simpsons audition, the idea actually made my stomach sink, but he was curious whether the writers room had changed and whether he could reclaim the character. He met showrunner Matt Selman and Co-Executive Producer Cesar Mazariegos before accepting. He said the sweetest part was unleashing that righteously rage-fueled I AM APU! over and over in the studio until we got it just right. Selman said the team wanted to bring Apu back in a smart, Simpsons-y way that allowed him to evolve and looks forward to seeing more of him.