‘The Simpsons’ Is Reportedly Dropping Apu, But They’re Still Committed to Being Completely Unwatchable
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s when shitty comics get a win, and that’s exactly what happened this weekend when stories started popping up about The Simpsons dropping Apu from the show in response to Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The Problem With Apu. You know, the way Marge got all the violence taken off of Itchy and Scratchy because it offended her. And that worked out so well that The Simpsons writers have internalized its message of always give in to minor public outcries, it can only make your show better. I mean, it can’t get worse. I mean, it could, but not much.
If we keep letting unfunny applause comics dictate how The Simpsons is done, there’s going to be an entire episode written by Hannah Gadsby that’s just Marge talking about how Pablo Picasso is bad for half an hour.
Of course, this isn’t the worst thing to happen to The Simpsons. That was the episode with Lady Gaga. And it isn’t like the show hasn’t written off characters before. Usually characters are only written out when their voice actors die or leave the show, but some have just faded into the background over the years, like Barney or Itchy and Scratchy. They’re still there, but not nearly as prominent as they once were.
I imagine Apu won’t be killed off the way some characters have been, but simply won’t be featured in episodes anymore.
Of course, this could just be a rumor or a trial balloon to see how it would be received. The news didn’t actually come from Fox or anyone involved with The Simpsons, instead it came from Adi Shankar, the guy who produced that Power/Rangers short with Katee Sackhoff as the Pink Ranger. He told IndieWire he was reading scripts that “redeemed” Apu for a similar project featuring The Simpsons and was told by three sources on the show that Apu was being phased out. Fox didn’t confirm or deny his comments, instead they just pointed out Apu was on the show two weeks ago.
It may be that Apu isn’t leaving the show, but they just wanted to see what kind of reaction the idea would get. It turns out not even Hari Kondabolu liked it.
Agreed. There are so many ways to make Apu work without getting rid of him. If true, this sucks. https://t.co/czBDIvaTV0
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) October 26, 2018
That makes sense, Kondablu’s problem wasn’t that Apu existed, just that he was a poor. A guy works his ass off 18 hour a day to support his wife and eight children just isn’t a good role model for Indian children. If Apu was a rich he’d be a good role model, though.
Of course, however this story turns out, the impact is lessened by The Simpsons not having had a good episode in five years or so. It’s not like they’re going to go back and delete the episodes Apu was in back when people still liked the show.
