Fan-Favorite Character Makes Long-Awaited Return to "The Simpsons" with New Voice Actor

The Simpsons has brought back a fan-favorite character after nearly a decade of silence.

What's Happening:

• After nearly a decade, The Simpsons has brought back a long-lost character on last night's episode of the long-running award-winning animated series.
• In the episode, "The Revengening," the fan-favorite character, Apu Nahasapeemepetilon is back. Though the character has been seen in the backgrounds and crowd shots since the October 2017 episode, "The Serfsons", he has not been heard since then.
• The character, originally voiced by Hank Azaria, has been controversial over the years due to the stereotypical portrayal of a South Asian convenience store owner and clerk. This issue was also addressed in a 2017 documentary, The Problem With Apu, where comedian Hari Kondabolu discussed the impact of the character on people of South Asian descent.
• After the documentary hit, Azaria revealed that he would no longer be voicing the character, later apologizing for his part in creating and participating in the character on Dax Shepard's podcast, Armchair Expert, in 2021.
• Afterward, Apu was shifted to silent, background appearances as producers figured out how to handle the character moving forward.
• Now, in 2026 and with several NDAs required for all involved to keep Apu's return the biggest surprise the show has seen in years, Apu is back and voiced by actor Sunil Malhotra, known for his work on screen in Grey's Anatomy, and behind a microphone in The Loud House, The Legend of Korra, and more.
• Malhotra wasn't as quick to jump into the role as one might have guessed, telling Variety that "when my agent called me about a Simpsons audition, I knew exactly what role it was for and the idea actually made my stomach sink. But admittedly, part of me was also curious. 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 apologized 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?... Whether the producers knew it or not, I was prepared to walk away."
• He continued, sharing how he was promised that the return of Apu was being handled with the utmost care.
• “My callback was the first of many times that no one at The Simpsons let me down,” Malhotra said. “I told casting that I’d only consider an offer if I could meet showrunner Matt Selman and co-executive producer Cesar Mazariegos, both of whom gladly did so. It was the beginning of a deeply collaborative experience that I hope is equally satisfying for longtime fans of ‘The Simpsons’ and for other South Asian kids who, like me, stopped watching at some point along the way.”
• Along with Malhotra as Apu, actress Janina Gavankar now is the voice of Apu's wife, Manjula, who also appears in the episode. Now, with the return of the characters and the Kwik-E-Mart reopened, EP Matt Selman has said that both characters and the Nahasapeemapetilon family will once again be seen and heard more often on the series.
• Malhotra and Gavankar both shared a post on social media revealing them in the new roles after the episode premiered.

• The full return of Apu and how it played out can be seen in The Simpsons episode, "The Revengening," which is now streaming on Hulu.