For the better part of a decade, one of Springfield’s most famous residents was hiding in plain sight. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, owner of the Kwik-E-Mart, kept popping up in the background of The Simpsons without saying a word. On Sunday night, that finally changed. Apu spoke again in a new episode, and he has a new voice: Indian American actor Sunil Malhotra.

Here’s what happened, how the show handled it and why it’s a big moment for one of TV’s longest-running series.

Who is Apu’s new voice?

Malhotra is a veteran actor best known for voice work. According to The Hollywood Reporter, his animation credits include The Legend of Korra and The Legend of Vox Machina, and he has voiced characters in video games such as Mortal Kombat 1 and The Outer Worlds 2. On camera, he has appeared in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, House and Cold Case.

The Guardian notes that Malhotra moved to the US from India as a child. Speaking about the role, he said: “It truly IS his homecoming.”

Malhotra also told Variety that he went in ready to say no if the role didn’t feel right. “Whether the producers knew it or not, I was prepared to walk away,” he said, recalling that he once turned down an early professional job because it asked him to play a stereotype. He described the process with The Simpsons team as “deeply collaborative.”

Why Apu went quiet

Apu was originally voiced by Hank Azaria, who also voices Moe, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and many others. The character faced growing criticism as a stereotype, crystallized in comedian Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Apu’s last speaking appearance came in the season 29 episode “The Serfsons,” which aired in October 2017. In February 2020, Azaria confirmed he would no longer voice the character, saying that once he understood how the character was perceived, “It just didn’t feel right.” Since then, Apu has appeared only in silent cameos.

How the episode brought him back

The return came in the season 38 episode “The Revengening,” a lead-in to next week’s annual Halloween special, “Treehouse of Horror XXXVII.” As Polygon describes it, the show leaned into its trademark self-awareness:

  • A mysterious figure called Daft Monk keeps nearly getting killed by accident around Springfield, then summons the town to City Hall and reveals himself to be Apu.
  • He explains he’s been stranded on the Island of Forgotten Garbage, where “all the junk Springfield gets rid of” ends up, alongside other faded characters such as Dr. Nick.
  • Marge offers an apology that doubles as one from the writers: “Apu, we’re so sorry we left you for dead. Believe me, we wanted to do the right thing.”
  • Lenny and Carl even joke about years of debates that “kind of just didn’t go anywhere.”

In the end, Apu wakes up in the Kwik-E-Mart next to his wife, Manjula, who is now voiced by Janina Gavankar of The Morning Show. It was all a dream, and Homer walks in to invite him to a Halloween party.

What the producers say

Simpsons producer Matt Selman told Variety, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter: “We love this character, and wanted to bring him back in a smart, Simpsons-y way that allowed him to evolve.” He added that the team is “excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”

That last line is the important one for fans. Apu isn’t a one-off guest; he’s expected to be part of Springfield again.

Why it matters

The Simpsons has spent years wrestling with how to handle characters created in a different era. Rather than quietly recasting or pretending nothing happened, the show chose to address Apu’s absence head-on, with a meta storyline and an actor of South Asian heritage in the role. Not every viewer will agree on whether it struck the right balance, but it’s a thoughtful attempt to let a classic character evolve.

The bottom line

After years of silent cameos, Apu is back with a new voice and a future on the show. If you missed Sunday’s episode, it’s worth catching up before next week’s Treehouse of Horror, which will be the first chance to see how Springfield’s newest old voice settles in.

Image: Tv Television by Pawel Kadysz via StockSnap, CC0 1.0