The Simpsons Brings Back Apu With New Voice Actor Sunil Malhotra After Nine-Year Silence

After nearly nine years of silence, The Simpsons has finally restored a voice to Springfield's most famous convenience store owner. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon spoke for the first time since October 2017 in the season 38 Halloween episode "The Revengening," which aired Sunday night on Fox in the US. The character returns with actor Sunil Malhotra behind the microphone, taking over a role Hank Azaria voiced for the show's first 29 seasons before stepping away following the 2017 documentary "The Problem With Apu."

Variety reports the episode’s table read and production stayed strictly confidential under a full NDA. Producers Nick Hahan and Cesar Mazariegos sparked the idea to

The Long Silence and Why It Happened

Apu had not uttered a word on The Simpsons since the October 2017 episode "The Serfsons," a stretch spanning nearly a decade of seasons. The silence followed comedian Hari Kondabolu's 2017 documentary "The Problem With Apu," which examined the negative impact the character's portrayal had on people of South Asian descent. Hank Azaria, who had voiced Apu since the series began, announced he would no longer lend his voice to the role after the documentary's release.

Azaria later reflected on his portrayal during a 2021 appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, expressing deep remorse. He stated that part of him "feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise." Rather than recast immediately, the show's producers chose to push Apu to the background — occasionally seen but never heard — leaving the character in a strange limbo that fans noticed every time he appeared silently in the Kwik-E-Mart.

Sunil Malhotra Steps Into the Role

When Malhotra's agent called about a Simpsons audition, he knew immediately what role it was for. "The idea actually made my stomach sink," Malhotra told Variety. "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?"

After talks with producers, Malhotra felt the comeback was being handled with care. In his words, the process was “deeply collaborative” and left him feeling as if both veteran Simpsons viewers and South‑Asian kids who had drifted away found something to enjoy. He noted that fans who grew up watching the show and kids who had stopped at some point would all find the return satisfying. Malhotra’s résumé shows roles on Grey’s Anatomy and The Legend of Korra, giving him a strong background in voice work that fits this unique responsibility.

A Halloween Return That Speaks Volumes

"The Revengening" frames Apu's return through a horror-movie premise: a man in a Daft Punk-inspired Halloween costume is accidentally killed repeatedly by Springfield residents, only to return a year later seeking revenge. When the costumed killer is unmasked, it's Apu — delivering the episode's most pointed lines. "I am the man you left for dead. I am the one you pretended never existed!" he tells the townspeople.

Marge responds with what reads as a producer surrogate line: "Apu, we're so sorry we left you for dead. Believe me, wanted to do the right thing." Bart adds: "But we were so scared, and just didn't know what to do." The meta-commentary is unmistakable — the show using its Halloween tradition to stage a confrontation between the character and the community that sidelined him. For Malhotra, the sweetest moment 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."

What This Means for the Show Going Forward

Matt Selman, the executive producer, told Variety that the team loves Apu and wanted to return him in a way that feels authentic to The Simpsons while letting the character grow. He added that Sunil Malhotra has already injected fresh energy into the role, and the writers are eager to see how Apu will develop. That final note lets fans know this isn’t merely a Halloween joke – it’s a real comeback. The real challenge will be keeping the new Apu true to the show’s tone without alienating longtime viewers. The question is whether the writers can strike a balance that satisfies both dedicated fans and South Asian viewers who saw the original portrayal hurtful. Only time will tell if the reboot lives up to the promise.

The Halloween episode format gave the show cover to make this return heightened and symbolic rather than naturalistic. Apu as a vengeful killer who was "left for dead" and "pretended never existed" works as a metaphor for the character's actual treatment by the series. But metaphor only carries so far. The real test comes in the regular episodes ahead, when Apu has to exist in Springfield not as a Halloween revenant but as a neighbour, a business owner, a father — a character with a life beyond the controversy that silenced him.

The Simpsons has a long history of using its Halloween specials to break its own rules, kill off major characters, and rewrite its reality for a single night. Using that tradition to stage Apu's return — literally unmasking him as a figure the town "left for dead" and "pretended never existed" — is the kind of self-aware meta joke the show does better than almost anything else on television. Whether that self-awareness translates into a sustained, thoughtful portrayal in the episodes that follow is the question that will determine if this return feels like repair or just another stunt. For now, Apu has a voice again. What he says next matters more than how he came back.