'The Simpsons' Just Made Its Next Big Comeback Much Easier

Published Oct 19, 2026, 4:18 PM EDT

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with extensive experience. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy, and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. With his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's tackled a wide variety of articles.

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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons, Season 38, Episode 3.

The Simpsons delivered one of its biggest surprises with the Season 38 episode, "Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening," which finally brings back Apu Nahasapeemapetilon after nearly a decade-long absence. "The Revengening" also addresses the long-standing controversy behind Apu, as he's now voiced by Sunil Malhotra (The Legend of Korra) instead of his original voice actor Hank Azaria. Fox took great measures to keep Apu's return a secret, including having the cast sign NDA's and not sending out screeners ahead of time. This means that viewers might have missed the return of another Springfield resident.

That resident? None other than the friendly yet utterly incompetent surgeon, Dr. Nick Riviera (also voiced by Azaria). "The Revengening" reveals that Apu is taking vengeance on Springfield's citizens for causing him a series of horrific and humiliating deaths, which caused him to wash up on "The Island of Forgotten Garbage," where Nick and other Springfield characters wound up over the years. Nick winds up healing Apu, who intends to light Springfield's city hall on fire before the Simpsons — and other characters — talk him out of it. However, The Simpsons might have accidentally stumbled into the perfect way to bring Dr. Nick back to the fray.

Dr. Nick Could Show Up in The Simpsons' Annual 'Treehouse of Horror' Segments

Image via FOX

One might ask why Dr. Nick was slowly phased out of The Simpsons, and the answer is fairly complicated. At first, he seems to be nothing more than a thinly drawn caricature wheeled out whenever a medical procedure on the show needs to go horribly wrong. But the idea of a doctor who's grossly incompetent can only take you so far, so it's no surprise that Nick was pushed to the background. However, bringing the character back in the Treehouse of Horror segments would be the perfect way to utilize him. After all, his malpractice could lead to some truly horrific moments or fuel certain stories. What if "The Island of Forgotten Garbage" comes back and spotlights other characters that The Simpsons let fade into the background? Or what if Nick becomes the center of his own Frankenstein-style story?

It's pretty clear that The Simpsons crew is looking to revamp certain characters, starting with Apu. Executive producer Matt Selman confirmed that Sunil Malholtra will continue to voice the Quik-E-Mart manager in future episodes during an interview with Variety.

"We love this character, and wanted to bring him back in a smart, ‘Simpsons’-y way that allowed him to evolve. We’re excited by what Sunil has already brought to the role, and look forward to seeing more of Apu in the future."

If Apu can grow and change, then Dr. Nick is a character that could use a similar treatment. Whether it's in the Treehouse of Horror specials or The Simpsons proper, there's comedy gold to be wrung out of his incompetence. Plus, the added appeal of everyone spontaneously saying "Hi, Dr. Nick!" whenever Nick enters a room never gets old.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring

Four horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.

😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)

🧸Chucky(Child's Play)

📞Scream(Ghostface)

🕯️The Conjuring(The Warren Files)

FIND YOUR NIGHTMARE →

01

Which horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.

ASomebody falling asleep when they really should not. BA toy that has moved, and nobody touched it. CA phone ringing in an empty house. DA child talking to somebody who is not there.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.

AI am exhausted and my mind is playing tricks on me. BSomething in this room is not where I left it. CSomebody is in here with me. DThis house has never felt entirely right.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

Which horror movie rule would you break first? Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.

ANever fall asleep. BNever leave it out of your sight. CNever answer the phone. DNever go down to the basement.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

Something genuinely frightening happens. What do you do? Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.

AConvince myself I imagined the whole thing. BTell someone, and brace for them not believing me. CWork out which person I know could be behind it. DGet everybody in the house into one room.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

How do you actually watch a horror film? Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.

AFine during. Wide awake at two in the morning. BShouting at the screen that nobody is listening. CCalling the twist out loud before it lands. DThrough my fingers, holding on to something.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

Somebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse? The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.

AFall asleep in a room I have never been in before. BKeep an old doll on the shelf facing my bed. CAnswer every unknown number that calls after midnight. DSpend one night alone in a house with a history.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

Which feeling stays with you a week after the film? Good horror does not stop when the credits do.

ANot wanting to turn the bedroom light off. BNot trusting one particular object in my house. CLooking twice at people I have known for years. DFeeling like something came home with me.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

Something wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.

AThat I am still asleep, and it knows it. BThat the thing nobody believed me about is here. CThat somebody with a key is downstairs. DThat something is in the doorway, watching us sleep.

REVEAL MY NIGHTMARE →

The Lights Just Went Out Your Nightmare Is…

Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.

Elm Street

Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever won that particular argument.

• Freddy is horror's cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
• You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your own head is where this does its damage.
• These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
• You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.

Chucky

Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.

• Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
• You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You know that feeling from real life too.
• The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you have met those adults.
• By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.

Scream

Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.

• Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be somebody who was at the party.
• You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the same way you watch films.
• The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
• Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.

The Conjuring

Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.

• The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
• Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
• This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
• Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one standing in the hallway.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

Like Apu, 'The Simpsons' Also Recast Dr. Nick

Dr. Nick's return to The Simpsons also sees a new voice actor stepping into his shoes, as Eric Lopez now voices the physician instead of Hank Azaria. It's a solution that The Simpsons has been slowly deploying over the years, as fellow physician Dr. Hibbert is now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson while Alex Désert took up voicing Carl Carlson in Season 32. Even Apu's wife Manjula was recently recast with Janina Gavankar. Not only does recasting help The Simpsons stay fresh, but it also gives new layers to characters who were previously jokes or didn't age that well over the years.

"Treehouse of Horror Presents: The Revengening" might end up being one of The Simpsons' biggest episodes in years. Not only did it bring back a fan-favorite character, but it opened the door for some of Springfield's other residents to return down the road. And it all starts with Apu and Dr. Nick.

The Simpsons airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. EST on Fox and streams the next day on Hulu.

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  Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)

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  Julie Kavner

  Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)