The Simpsons voice actor Harry Shearer has admitted he has never watched the show, despite appearing in over 800 episodes.
The Spinal Tap star has been a fixture of the series since the beginning, and is famous for voicing characters such as Mr. Burns, Kent Brockman, and Ned Flanders. The first full season of the animated show aired in 1989, following shorts being aired on The Tracey Ullman Show. However, despite running for 36 seasons (with a 37th arriving in August), Shearer has never watched his most famous work.
In an interview with The I, the actor was asked whether the 1990s episodes (considered the show’s peak) had aged well. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it,” he replied. When told that they air continuously on TV and are still cherished, he said: “That’s what I hear! But it’s good to hear you say that.”
While he may not be a viewer, he said elsewhere in the interview that he still enjoys playing the various Springfield citizens he has portrayed across five decades. “I still enjoy playing all these characters,” he said. “It was the reason I did this instead of some other television show where you’re pretty much limited to one character. I liked the idea of the variety of characters, and I still like that.”
Last year, it was announced that a second Simpsons movie would be arriving in 2027, 20 years after the original. Teaser artwork on the official Simpsons social media accounts announced: “Homer’s coming back for seconds.” The characters appear to have also found popularity in the gaming world, with their Fortnite collaboration attracting more than 80million players and 780million hours of playtime.