‘The Simpsons’ Pulls Off Its Cheekiest Stunt Yet: Apu Is Back, Hank Azaria Is Out, and a Daft Monk Did It
Springfield has never been short of surprises, but few are as long-awaited as this one. For years, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been a ghost in the background of ‘The Simpsons,’ visible behind the counter of the Kwik-E-Mart but never allowed to say a word. That silence has finally been broken.
The show has been on the air for decades, and the 812th episode landed on Sunday night on Fox. It was the third episode of Season 38 and a precursor to the annual Halloween special, ‘Treehouse of Horror XXXVII,’ coming next weekend. Nobody outside the production team knew what was coming.
On Sunday, October 18, ‘The Simpsons’ brought back Apu’s voice for the first time in nearly a decade, and the new voice belongs to Sunil Malhotra instead of Hank Azaria. The reveal came in “Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening,” and Variety exclusively reported who was behind the microphone. Apu had not been heard since the October 2017 episode “The Serfsons.”
Apu’s new voice has been revealed. It is the first time the character has spoke in almost a decade. https://t.co/HjzHVjaM0S
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 19, 2026
The production went to unusual lengths to keep the return under wraps. No screeners were shared with critics ahead of time, and NDAs covered everyone involved in the table read and the episode’s production. That meant viewers discovered at the same time that Apu was back and that someone new was playing him.
Malhotra is an Indian-American actor and voice-over veteran. His credits include ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘The Legend of Korra,’ ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ and ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.’ He is not the only new voice in the Nahasapeemapetilon household, either: Manjula is now voiced by Janina Gavankar, who previously starred in ‘The Morning Show.’
True to its Halloween spirit, the episode is a spoof of slasher movies. A mysterious figure in a “Daft Monk” costume, a Daft Punk helmet paired with monk robes, keeps getting accidentally knocked off by residents of Springfield. A year later, he returns for revenge.
Eventually he summons the townspeople to City Hall, where he takes his helmet off and reveals that he is Apu. According to Men’s Journal, much of what viewers see turns out to be a nightmare, and by the end Apu is back where he belongs in Springfield. The clip of his first words has already spread widely online.
Apu was voiced by Azaria, a white actor who used an exaggerated Indian accent for the role. The character became controversial over the years because of its stereotypical portrayal of a South Asian convenience store clerk. Calls for change intensified after Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary ‘The Problem with Apu,’ which explored how South Asian Americans felt about growing up with Apu as one of their only representatives on American television.
Azaria announced in 2020 that he would no longer voice the character. ‘The Simpsons’ addressed the controversy in a 2018 episode, and Apu was largely reduced to silent cameos afterward. He even appeared briefly, without speaking, in a post-apocalyptic Springfield in last year’s Halloween special.
Executive producer Matt Selman told Variety that the team loves the character and wanted to bring him back in a smart, ‘Simpsons’-y way that allowed him to evolve. “We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future,” Selman said. He also confirmed that Apu and Manjula will be seen and heard more often from now on.
Malhotra said he took time to consider what it would mean to take over Apu and spoke with the producers to make sure the character was more culturally appropriate. His favorite moment, he said, was delivering Apu’s furious declaration of who he is. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the sweetest part of all was unleashing that righteously rage-fueled ‘I AM APU!’ — on behalf of so many of us — over and over in the studio until we got it just right,” Malhotra said.
The big question is what Apu looks like in ‘The Simpsons’ today. Casting an Indian-American performer rather than simply another white actor is perhaps the most important part of the decision, and it signals the show is trying to get this right. With Malhotra and Gavankar in place, the Nahasapeemapetilon family appears ready to become a regular part of Springfield again.
It also marks a notable shift for a series that spent years unsure whether Apu would ever return as an active character. Rather than retiring him permanently, the writers chose a fresh start. For longtime fans, hearing his voice again is a small but meaningful moment of closure.
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