Apu Speaks Again in The Simpsons Season 38 After Nearly Nine Years

The Simpsons has given Apu Nahasapeemapetilon a speaking role for the first time in almost nine years. The longtime Kwik-E-Mart owner returns vocally in "The Revengening," the third episode of the animated series' 38th season, which aired on Fox in the US on Sunday, October 18, 2026.

The episode marks the debut of actor and voice performer Sunil Malhotra as Apu. Malhotra, whose prior work includes Grey's Anatomy and The Legend of Korra, succeeds Hank Azaria, who had voiced the character across the first 29 seasons of The Simpsons before stepping away from the part.

Apu had not spoken on the series since the October 2017 episode "The Serfsons." In the years since, he had occasionally appeared in background shots but was conspicuously silent. His return in "The Revengening" is not a casual reset. Instead, the episode makes Apu's long disappearance part of the story, with the character directly confronting Springfield's residents for having treated him as if he were gone.

A secretive return for a major Springfield character

Production on Apu's return was reportedly handled under unusually tight secrecy. The table read for "The Revengening" and the later recording and production process were kept under strict non-disclosure agreements, limiting knowledge of both the character's renewed dialogue and Malhotra's casting.

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That caution makes sense given the history surrounding Apu. For decades, he was among the most recognizable recurring characters in Springfield: the fast-talking proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, father of octuplets, husband to Manjula, and a dependable component of the show's enormous supporting ensemble. Yet the character's depiction also attracted significant criticism, particularly over the use of a white actor, Azaria, for the role and the reliance on an exaggerated South Asian accent and stereotypes.

Those concerns received renewed public attention in 2017 through the documentary The Problem With Apu, in which comedian Hari Kondabolu explored the impact Apu had on South Asian viewers and performers. The documentary argued that, even when presented within a broad satirical comedy, the character had helped reinforce a limited and harmful image of South Asian people in popular culture.

Azaria later announced that he would no longer voice Apu. In a 2021 appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert, the actor discussed his regret over the portrayal and said that part of him felt he needed to personally apologize to every Indian person in the United States.

Rather than immediately recasting the part, The Simpsons largely moved Apu into the background. That choice avoided continuing with the previous performance, but it also meant that a prominent South Asian character effectively lost his voice and narrative presence. "The Revengening" uses that absence as the basis for Apu's reintroduction.

"The Revengening" makes the absence part of its plot

The Halloween-themed episode begins with a Springfield resident in a Daft Punk-inspired costume being accidentally killed repeatedly by other townspeople. One year later, that person is somehow still alive and begins taking revenge on those responsible, pursuing them one at a time.

The eventual reveal identifies Apu as the costumed figure. Once unmasked, he addresses the residents of Springfield with a line that is plainly designed to operate on two levels: within the episode's revenge plot and as an acknowledgement of the character's real-world disappearance from the show.

"I am the man you left for dead. I am the one you pretended never existed!"

Marge responds with an apology, telling Apu that the family was sorry they had left him for dead and that they had wanted to do the right thing. Bart adds that they had been scared and did not know how to proceed. The dialogue frames the show's years-long uncertainty as something the series is willing to confront directly, though it does so in the heightened, self-aware style expected from a Simpsons Halloween story.

The sequence does not erase the debate surrounding the character, nor does it attempt to claim that there was an easy solution. Its purpose appears to be more specific: acknowledge that sidelining Apu had consequences, recognize the uncertainty behind that decision, and establish a route for the character to return with a new performer and a different creative approach.

Sunil Malhotra considered what the role could mean

Malhotra has said that he immediately understood which role was involved when his agent informed him about a Simpsons audition. His first reaction was unease. The actor said the prospect made his stomach sink, though he was also curious about whether the series could bring Apu back in a way that recognized earlier mistakes.

For Malhotra, the key questions went beyond simply reproducing a familiar voice. He considered whether the writing staff had changed, whether the production was prepared to address the history surrounding the character, and whether a new portrayal could allow him to make Apu his own. He also questioned whether the series could satisfy longtime viewers while offering something more meaningful to South Asian audiences, including those who had stopped watching the show.

After discussions with the producers, Malhotra decided the team was taking the return seriously. He described the process as deeply collaborative and expressed hope that the result would be satisfying both for established fans and for South Asian children and viewers who had felt alienated by the character's past portrayal.

That collaborative element is central to why this casting differs from a simple replacement. Apu's history means that the new performance cannot be separated from the broader conversation about representation, authorship, and who gets to participate in portraying a South Asian character. Casting Malhotra does not settle every question the character raises, but it establishes an important change in the role's voice and perspective.

A new voice, and an opening for more stories

Executive producer Matt Selman said the creative team loves Apu and wanted to return him to the series in a smart, recognizably Simpsons-style manner that allowed the character to evolve. Selman also said the production was enthusiastic about Malhotra's work and looked forward to more of Apu in the future.

That suggests "The Revengening" is intended as more than a one-episode novelty. Apu's reappearance potentially restores access to a significant corner of Springfield that has been underused for years. The Kwik-E-Mart has historically served as one of the series' most flexible locations, equally useful for neighborhood comedy, late-night misadventures, consumer satire, and stories involving Homer, Bart, or the town at large.

Still, future appearances will matter more than the announcement of a recasting alone. The challenge for the series is to make Apu feel like a complete participant in its world rather than a symbol of a controversy or a character whose every scene is forced to litigate the past. The strongest path forward may be to let him have stories, relationships, jokes, and frustrations that are specific to him without falling back on the shortcuts that caused harm in the first place.

Malhotra's own comments indicate that he understands the significance of that task. He said one especially meaningful part of the recording process was delivering Apu's enraged declaration of identity repeatedly in the studio until the team found the right take. For Malhotra, the line carried weight beyond the immediate scene, functioning as an assertion on behalf of people who had complicated feelings about Apu's disappearance and the character's earlier treatment.

"I AM APU!"

It is an unusually direct statement for a character who spent years silent in the background. In the context of "The Revengening," it works as a piece of Halloween revenge melodrama. Outside the episode, it signals that The Simpsons is no longer leaving the issue unspoken.

What Apu's return means for The Simpsons

After nearly four decades on television, The Simpsons remains a series built on a vast ensemble. That scale has allowed characters to fade away, reappear years later, and sometimes change considerably between generations of writers and performers. Apu's return is different because his absence was not just a routine creative decision. It was tied to an ongoing cultural discussion about representation and accountability in a landmark animated comedy.

"The Revengening" does not present itself as a definitive final answer to that discussion. Instead, it offers a self-aware step forward: a new actor, an explicit acknowledgement that the character was sidelined, and an apparent commitment to continuing Apu's story. Whether that approach resonates will depend on how the show develops him from here.

For now, Apu has spoken again. And after nearly nine years of silence, The Simpsons has made sure his first words back are impossible to miss.