Simpsons Social Media Teases Long-Awaited Return Of Cancelled Fan-Favorite Character

By TeeJay Small
| Updated 1 hour ago

By now, even the most casual Simpsons fan is aware of the controversy surrounding Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. The fan-favorite character, once voiced by Hank Azaria, first appeared all the way back in the show’s inaugural season and has become a staple of the series for decades. Unfortunately, Apu has been all but written out of The Simpsons and ignored since 2017, following the release of a documentary titled The Problem With Apu. In the years since, Fox has effectively pretended that the Kwik-E-Mart clerk doesn’t exist, until a recent social media post.

On July 11, the official Simpsons X account shared an image of Apu passing a golden, glowing Squishee cup across the counter at the Kwik-E-Mart. Eagle-eyed fans quickly recognized the frame as being pulled from the 2016 episode “Much Apu About Something.” Others questioned if the still was from an upcoming episode, which would place Apu back in the spotlight. Either way, there were a myriad of reactions from fans regarding this sudden acknowledgment of a character who has been relegated to the distant background since “Gucci Gang” and fidget spinners were all the rage.

Soft Lanch, Or Hot Air?

In case you’re not up to date, comedian Hari Kondabolu created The Problem With Apu to raise concerns regarding Indian stereotypes in media, and the damaging effects they can have on real-life Indians. In the special, Kondabolu claims that he and others have been tormented by refrains like “thank you, come again,” and jokes which call back to The Simpsons as a singular cultural touchstone. Needless to say, the Indian people are not a monolith (the diaspora accounts for some 1.4 billion), and others, like Akaash Singh, have argued that the character actually brings positive representation to the cultural forefront.

If this social media post is indeed a soft-launch of Apu’s return, the network will surely be met with plenty of questions. For starters, will Hank Azaria return to the role, or will Apu be recast by an actor of actual South Asian heritage? Azaria has been asked multiple times if he’s open to a return, and made it perfectly clear that he has no plans to offer up a “thank you, come again” any time soon. Other Simpsons characters, including Dr. Hibbert and Carl Carlson, have been recast in recent years, as a greater cultural push demands characters be played by actors who share their lived experience.

The Simpsons is not the only animated series that’s faced this backlash. Futurama, Family Guy, and Big Mouth have also agreed to swap caucasian voice actors out of non-white roles. BoJack Horseman (which concluded before this controversy became relevant) was criticized for Alison Brie’s performance of Diane, a Vietnamese-American with very few roots to her ethnic homeland.

No matter what happens with the Apu character, some subset of fans will surely be up in arms. For now, it seems like Fox will make their decision based on market research, and try to offend as few potential viewers as possible, while cashing in on rage-bait politics with cryptic social media posts.