[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for the October 18th episode of The Simpsons, “Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening.”]
Until Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon was last heard speaking in the October 2017 episode “The Serfsons.” That all changed when Sunil Malhotra (Grey’s Anatomy, The Legend of Korra) made his surprise debut as Apu’s new voice actor.
In “The Revengening,” a man wearing a Daft Punk helmet and monastic robe (aka “Daft Monk”) Halloween costume is accidentally killed nearly a dozen times by Springfield residents. Still alive a year later, he returns for revenge and delivers a speech at town hall, revealing himself to be Apu.
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“I am the man you left for dead. I am the shame you tried to bury. I am the one you pretended never existed!” he says after telling the Springfield crowd that he had been nursed back to good health by Dr. Nick at The Island of Forgotten Garbage. “It would have been so easy to bring me back. I immediately ran home to my family, but they were gone. Then I went to the Kwik-E-Mart and was shocked to find it abandoned. As I wandered aimlessly through town, no one even noticed me. It was as if I was invisible. That was when I vowed to take my revenge on Springfield.”
Marge Simpson attempts to talk him off the edge, saying, “Apu, we’re so sorry we left you for dead. Believe me, we wanted to do the right thing,” and Bart adds, “But we were so scared, and just didn’t know what to do.”
Lenny further nods to the writers’ room debates by revealing, “If it’s any consolation, we had so many internal conversations about it,” and Carl admits, “They kind of just didn’t go anywhere.”
Homer then offers to sacrifice himself to save Springfield in another acknowledgment of Apu’s importance: “I’m just doing what the old Apu would have done. The guy who loved this town and everyone in it. You were on our bowling teams, our barbershop quartets, our dad rock cover bands. We took you for granted. I took you for granted.”
However, the whole sequence is revealed to be an apparent nightmare when Apu wakes up and finds himself back in the Kwik-E-Mart with Manjula. Apu then agrees to attend a Halloween party at Homer’s request, mysteriously discovering a “Daft Monk” costume under the cash register.
In an interview with Variety, executive producer Matt Selman said Apu and his wife, Manjula (Janina Gavankar), would play a greater part in the animated series going forward. “We love this character, and wanted to bring him back in a smart, Simpsons-y way that allowed him to evolve,” he said. “We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”
Hank Azaria previously voiced Apu, who was long criticized for perpetuating South Asian stereotypes. In November 2017, comedian Hari Kondabolu released a documentary titled The Problem with Apu, breaking down how the character negatively impacted the lives of South Asians.
The animated series initially addressed Kondabolu’s critique in an episode where Marge said, “Some things will be addressed at a later date,” before later clarifying Apu wasn’t being written off. However, the character faded to the background, and in January 2020, Hank Azaria said he wouldn’t be doing the voice anymore.
That meant Apu was occasionally seen in Springfield, but wasn’t heard — until Sunday’s “The Revengening.” Speaking to Variety, Malhotra discussed the inner conflict he felt about taking the role and how he made sure it was a “collaborative experience” with producers.
“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,” Malhotra said. “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?”
Malhotra continued, “Whether the producers knew it or not, I was prepared to walk away,” revealing that he turned down his first “professional job offer 28 years ago” because he didn’t want to feed into a “Hindu guy” stereotype. He added that being the “butt of the joke wasn’t something I was willing to do, and I’ve turned down similar work multiple times since.”
As a result, Malhotra only took the role after meeting with showrunner Matt Selman and co-executive producer Cesar Mazariegos to kick off what he hopes 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.”
Season 38 of The Simpsons premiered on September 27th. The next episode, airing on Sunday, October 25th, will mark the 37th installment of its “Treehouse of Horror” series. The second Simpsons movie is currently set for release in September 2027.