Harry Shearer not leaving The Simpsons after all
Good news has arrived for all fans of The Simpsons after it was confirmed by the official Twitter account of the show that all principle cast members, including Harry Shearer, had signed new contracts. This means that the Spinal Tap member would not be giving up his roles on the cartoon, something that Mr. Burns would probably describe as, “Excellent.”
We are extremely pleased to announce that all principal cast members of #TheSimpsons have now been signed. Woo Hoo! pic.twitter.com/pRHW8WJ2oY
— TheSimpsons (@TheSimpsons) July 7, 2015
In May, Harry Shearer revealed to the world that he would be leaving The Simpsons after spending 26 years voicing characters on the show. This was a problem for the show’s producers as Shearer was one of the six principle cast members and was the talent behind integral characters such as Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Dr. Hibbert and Lenny.
The comedian and actor later explained that the departure had nothing to do with money but was motivated by his desire to be able to work on other projects. He later said in a statement, “This because I wanted what we’ve always had: the freedom to do other work.” The news was even more complicated as the show had just been renewed for two more seasons, meaning it would run to at least to season 30.
It then became pretty obvious that the producers and showrunner Al Jean were baffled by the news. They clearly wanted Shearer to stay and were confused with talk of Shearer wanting more free time to pursue other career opportunities as the reason behind him leaving the show.
“He said he wanted to do other projects, which makes no sense because we’ve always let the cast do all the other projects they want — they have great free time. So I don’t really know what he’s up to [or] what he’s thinking. I hope he comes back.”
The Simpsons will return for its 27th season later this fall.