After a nearly-decade long absence, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is back!
The fan-favorite character made his long-awaited return in tonight's episode of The Simpsons, titled "Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening," which is a lead-up to next weekend's "Treehouse of Horror XXXVII" and was heard for the first time since October 2017, as a brand new voice actor takes over the iconic part.
Variety has now revealed that Sunil Malhotra (Grey’s Anatomy; The Legend of Korra) is the new voice of Apu, taking over the role from Hank Azaria, who permanently retired from voicing the character in 2017 after the release of the The Problem With Apu documentary and its subsequent backlash.
Apu wasn't the only returning character as his wife Manjula also made a triumphant return with the reopened Kwik-E-Mart. She's now voiced by Janina Gavankar (The League; Star Wars: Battlefront II).
Executive producer Matt Selman confirms both Apu and Manjula will be seen and heard more frequently on future installments of The Simpsons - and presumably in the upcoming 2027 movie sequel as well. He shared his enthusiasm, “We love this 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.”
Malhotra expressed his enthusiasm for the future of Apu and wants fans to rest assured that the character will be handled with the highest level of love and care moving forward. “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. I really feel like we did and I can’t wait for fans to see more Apu.”
If you're curious about how he makes his way back to Springfield, here's a quick plot description of tonight's episode courtesy of the trade:
In “The Revengening,” a spooky lead-up to next week’s “Treehouse of Horror XXXVII,” a man in a “Daft Monk” Halloween costume (as in, a Daft Punk helmet and monastic robe — wordplay!) is accidentally killed over and over again by Springfield residents all over town. A year later, “Daft Monk” is still alive, and getting his revenge by taking out his would-be killers, one by one.
Eventually “Daft Monk” summons the townspeople to Springfield City Hall, where he takes his helmet off and reveals that he’s actually Apu.
Apu then shares his backstory: After he was nearly killed dozens of times, he wound up on “The Island of Forgotten Garbage,” where he’s healed by “The Simpsons” quack Dr. Nick (who also has been seen sparingly in recent years). “All the junk Springfield gets rid of winds up here,” he tells Apu, “like you … If you wound up here, it’s for a reason, right, Leon?” (Out pops the character that Michael Jackson played in the Season 3 episode “Stark Raving Mad,” which was pulled from “Simpsons” rotation in 2019 after the doc “Leaving Neverland” showcased more allegations against the late pop star.)
Says Apu before he reveals himself: “I am the man you left for dead. I am the one you pretended never existed!”
Then, unmasked, he tells the Springfield crowd: “It would have been so easy to bring me back. I immediately ran home to my family, but they were gone. Then I went to the Kwik-E-Mart, and was shocked to find it abandoned. As I wandered aimlessly through town, no one even noticed me. It was as if I was invisible. That was when I vowed to take my revenge on Springfield.”
He’s about to light City Hall on fire, but Marge Simpson pipes up — representing the Springfield citizens, but also clearly serving as a mouthpiece for the show’s producers: “Apu, we’re so sorry we left you for dead. Believe me, we wanted to do the right thing.”
Bart adds: “But we were so scared, and just didn’t know what to do.”
Lenny also chimes in, in a nod to the debates inside “The Simpsons” writers’ room: “If it’s any consolation, we had so many internal conversations about it.”
But, Carl finishes, “Ahh, they kind of just didn’t go anywhere.” (And for almost a decade, that’s how “The Simpsons” never got around to bringing back Apu.)
Homer then offers to sacrifice himself to save the rest of the town, and offers this penance to Apu, while reminding viewers how important Apu has been to the makeup of Springfield: “I’m just doing what the old Apu would have done. The guy who loved this town and everyone in it. You were on our bowling teams, our barbershop quartets, our dad rock cover bands. We took you for granted. I took you for granted.”
But before Apu can blow up the town, he wakes up. It turns out it was a nightmare; no one is dead. He’s back in the Kwik E-Mart, and Manjula is there too. So is his No. 1 customer, Homer, who invites him to a Halloween party.
“What the heck? I’ll do it,” Apu says. “A Halloween party sounds kind of fun. Plus, I feel like I haven’t seen everyone in ages. Oh, but I wish I had a costume.”
But he actually does: There’s a “Daft Monk” costume stashed under the cash register. So was it really a dream? And that’s the end of the episode — but Apu is back!