The Simpsons has undergone some big changes in recent years. While the long-running animated series was confirmed to be renewed by Fox all the way up until its fortieth season, major voice actor Pamela Hayden retired from Springfield in recent news. With the likes of Jimbo Jones and Milhouse finding new voice actors, the question arises amongst fans whether some of the “bigger” characters will eventually get new actors of their own. In a recent interview, showrunner Matt Selman dug deeper into whether Homer, Marge, Maggie, Bart, and Lisa will be replaced at some point.
Selman put some fears to rest in a recent interview with outlet Cracked, stating that the major players of the series cannot easily be replaced, “None of them are replaceable. Have any of the other Kermits ever sounded like Kermit? They can scour the planet for Kermit. They can have a global Kermit talent contest every year and find the best Kermit, but it’s never going to sound like Jim Henson. So, should one of our actors be eaten by a bear, then it will never sound the same. It will always be a line in the sand.” Since the series has run for decades, none of the voice actors are getting any younger and it will be interesting to see if there are more retirements in store for The Simpsons before the grand finale.
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The Simpsons’ Legacy
The Simpsons’ showrunner also discussed the legacy of the main cast, talking about existential threats to the series and hilariously creating a hypothetical scenario wherein Hank Azaria is eaten by a bear, “I can’t worry about existential threats to the show. What I worry about is: Are Jim Brooks and Matt Groening going to like the table read on Thursday? I mean, obviously, if Hank Azaria is eaten by a bear this weekend, I don’t know what we would do. It would really suck, that’s for sure. Hank, always keep your bear spray on your body because I don’t want you to get eaten by a bear.”
Selman also discussed the recent renewal of the series, which will see The Simpsons continue up to 2028 at least, and how the team is planning for the future, “I’m thinking one episode at a time. There’s no plan. There’s no bandwidth for grand plans, unfortunately. In my mind, it’s just about making sure there’s emotional storytelling and comedic biodiversity over the course of the season. That means small episodes, big episodes, personal episodes, satirical episodes — it’s all kinds of different storytelling. Make sure we cover every character in the family and also spread out to the town. There’s no grand plan. Our show isn’t really designed for grand plans. It’s really designed for one mini movie at a time.”
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