News Digest

Harry Shearer inks deal to return to ‘The Simpsons’

Harry Shearer has signed a new deal to return to the Fox animated comedy, the network announced Tuesday. With the deal, all six principal voice actors are confirmed to return for the historic 27th and 28th seasons. The deal is the same as his fellow voice cast members — a two-year deal with an option for another two seasons (so a potential four-year pact) and an estimated $300,000 per episode. The series was renewed earlier this year for two additional seasons, taking it through Season 28. Shearer, who voices iconic Simpsons characters including Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner and Kent Brockman, announced May 13 that he was leaving TV’s longest-running comedy over a contract dispute and, as he phrased it, the “freedom to do other work.”

Harry was offered the same deal the rest of the cast accepted, and passed. The show will go on, and we wish him well. Maggie took it hard. We do not plan to kill off characters like Burns and Flanders but will recast with the finest voice-over talent available.

Exec producer Al Jean, who fired back at Shearer, told The New York Times in May 2015

Producers, including showrunner Al Jean, told The Hollywood Reporter that Shearer was offered the same two-year deal (with an option for two more) as the rest of his fellow voice actors, and the plan was to recast his roles should he opt to depart. This was Shearer’s second contract dispute with the series, produced by 20th Century Fox Television. He was the lone cast holdout in the last round of contract negotiations, when the actors agreed to a pay cut in 2011, and they stopped going to script readings in 2004 before landing salary bumps at the time.