Updated on December 10, 2021
It turns out that Harry Shearer, the voice artist to a good chunk of the secondary cast on “The Simpsons,” is staying with the show after all, as reported today in “Variety” and elsewhere.
Shearer, the voice of Dr. Hibbert, Mr. Burns, Smithers, and others, had announced plans to quit the show, citing a desire to do other things such as his radio show. This means, of course, no need to recast the sizable number of characters Shearer did for the show.
No details were listed as to what brought Shearer back, but presumably it involved a very large amount of money. Given the length of time the show’s been on and the aging cast (Shearer’s 71 years old), I don’t expect this to be the last time a major voice artist on the show departs/nearly departs.
“The Simpsons” will be back for its 27th(!) season on September 27. As for me, since I bailed on the show around the turn of the millennium, I’ll stick with “Sunday Night Football” or Netflix.
