This is not okely-dokely, nor is it eeeexcellent.
Last night, Harry Shearer, 70, the voice of loads of The Simpsons‘ best characters, posted a series of Tweets that suggested he will not be returning for seasons 27 and 28.
“Show will go on, Harry will not be part of it, wish him the best,” Shearer quoted James L. Brooks lawyer as saying on Twitter.
Shearer added, “This [is] because I wanted what we’ve always had – the freedom to do other work”.
The series showrunner Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly that Shearer had a problem with his contract.
“Harry Shearer was offered the same deal the rest of the cast accepted, and passed. The show will go on and we wish him well,” he said.
All is not lost, though! Jean said that the door is not closed.
“We’re still hoping he might come back. Nothing’s done ’til it’s done,” he said.
It’s apparently not the first time this has happened.
“My reaction is, ‘Oh, he’ll be back’. It’s not the first time that it’s been a possibility, but he always returns,” Jean said.
“We do not plan to kill off characters like Burns and Flanders but will recast with the finest voice-over talent available,” Jean told The New York Times.
Shearer has been on The Simpsons since the very beginning in 1989.
As well as Flanders, Burns, and Principal Skinner, he plays other characters including Kent Brockman, Reverend Lovejoy, Waylon Smithers, Dr Hibbert and Lenny.
The show should let Shearer pursue other work in addition to his Simpsons roles, because he is responsible for mockumentary This is Spinal Tap – he wrote and starred in it.
He also hosts of radio program Le Show, and and starred in the series Nixon’s the One, as Nixon.
And he played Principal Peskin in Dawson’s Creek, so there’s that.
Want more on Springfield?
The creators of The Simpsons are killing off a “great character”.
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Top Comments
Pleas, please let this signal a Spinal Tap reunion. Please.