The Simpsons: 8 Recent Big Moments You Might Have Missed
2. New Voices
In 2020, there were many animated shows that came under criticism for the handling of their diverse characters. In spite of the representation on screen, this was not reflected by the actors providing their voices behind the scenes. The Simpsons was no different, and made changes to its voicing policy moving forward.
After receiving heavy criticism, the show vowed to no longer have white actors portraying non-white characters on screen. This meant that Hank Azaria would no longer be the voice of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Carl Carlson, Lou the police officer, or Bumblebee Man, and Harry Shearer would no longer speak as Dr. Hibbert.
For the season 32 premiere, Alex Désert was bought in as Carl, while voice acting superstar Kevin Michael Richardson made his debut as Dr. Hibbert later in the season in 'Wad Goals'. These are huge, landmark moments for diversity and representation, not only in The Simpsons, but in the world of animated TV, and should be celebrated as such.
The catalyst for this change was Hank Azaria retiring as Apu's voice. The character hasn't spoken in an episode of The Simpsons since 'The Serfsons' in 2017, however he is as of yet to be recast. Ironically, though Apu was the character that inspired these changes, the show itself responded incredibly poorly to these criticisms to begin with...