Apu Returns to The Simpsons With a New Voice After Nearly a Decade of Silence

Spoiler alert: this article contains major spoilers for the Oct. 18 episode of “The Simpsons,” “The Revengening,” which aired Sunday night on Fox.

“The Simpsons” pulled off its own October surprise on Sunday night: Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is back. The fan favorite character spoke for the first time in nearly a decade during the episode “The Revengening.” Actor and voice-over veteran Sunil Malhotra, whose credits include “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Legend of Korra,” now voices the Kwik-E-Mart owner. The casting ends a long stretch of silence for one of the show’s most recognizable characters.

A Closely Guarded Secret Inside Springfield

Apu had appeared on screen but never spoke since the October 2017 episode “The Serfsons.” Malhotra’s hiring and Apu’s return stayed a closely guarded secret inside the “Simpsons” universe. Fox did not share a screener for “The Revengening,” and producers kept both the table read and the episode’s production under tight protocols. Those protocols included NDAs for everyone involved.

The secrecy paid off for viewers who tuned in on Sunday without knowing what to expect. Apu’s voice returned in an episode that carried no advance promotion about his comeback. That approach turned a casting announcement into a genuine television surprise.

Sunday’s episode also introduced another new voice. Janina Gavankar, known for “The Morning Show,” made her debut as Apu’s wife, Manjula. Her arrival adds a second returning member of the Nahasapeemapetilon family to the conversation around the show.

Producers Promise More Apu Ahead

With Apu back and the Kwik-E-Mart reopened, the show plans to give the family a bigger presence. Executive producer Matt Selman said viewers will see and hear both Apu and Manjula more often in future episodes. The Nahasapeemapetilon family as a whole will return to regular rotation in Springfield.

“We love this character, and wanted to bring him back in a smart, ‘Simpsons’-y way that allowed him to evolve,” Selman said. “We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future.”

Selman’s comments signal that the producers see this as more than a one-episode cameo. The phrase “allowed him to evolve” suggests the writers want the character to move beyond the way the show portrayed him in the past. Malhotra’s performance, according to Selman, already shapes how the team approaches Apu going forward.

Why Apu Went Quiet

Hank Azaria previously voiced Apu, a character that drew controversy over the years for its stereotypical portrayal of a South Asian convenience store clerk. The 2017 documentary “The Problem With Apu” made that issue its centerpiece. In the film, comedian Hari Kondabolu discussed the impact the character had on people of South Asian descent.

The documentary made waves, including inside the “Simpsons” writers’ room, where staff screened and discussed it. Azaria then announced that he would no longer voice the character. He later addressed the topic directly on a podcast.

“I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that,” Azaria said in 2021 on Dax Shepard’s podcast “Armchair Expert.” “Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do.”

In the aftermath, producers moved Apu to the background while they decided how to handle the character. For years, that meant Apu would occasionally appear in Springfield but never speak. Viewers could spot him, yet the show gave him no lines.

A New Chapter for a Longtime Character

Sunday’s episode ended that approach by giving Apu a voice again. The show chose Malhotra, a voice-over veteran with experience across television and animation, to carry the role forward. His debut arrives roughly nine years after the character last spoke on the series.

The return also reopens a question that fans and critics have debated since the documentary aired. How will a show that built its reputation on satire handle a character at the center of such a pointed conversation? Selman’s promise of a “smart” approach that lets Apu “evolve” offers the clearest hint so far.

For now, the Kwik-E-Mart is open again, Manjula has a voice, and Apu has one too. Viewers will find out in upcoming episodes how much screen time the Nahasapeemapetilon family gets and how the writers shape their stories. What is already clear is that the show’s best-kept secret of the season is out, and Apu is talking again.