is set to make show history by featuring a deaf voice actor and American Sign Language on the show for the first time.
The hugely popular cartoon, which has been running for 33 years, will feature deaf voice actor John Autry II as Monk in the landmark episode which will air this weekend.
The episode, which will air on Sunday in the US, is titled The Sound Of Bleeding Gums, sees Lisa Simpson track down the deaf son of her favourite saxophonist, Bleeding Gums Murphy, to help him get a cochlear implant.
Viewers will get to see sequences of ASL throughout the episode and John has opened up about the importance of representation on the much-loved children’s show.
He told : ‘It’s so incredible. It’s life-changing equality and participation. This can impact change for all of us. It’s about hard of hearing and hearing characters coming together. It’s a part of history.’
The episode was written by Loni Steele Sosthand, who joined the Simpsons in 2020 and was inspired by her own deaf brother, and the jazz music that was so prevalent in her own home growing up.
Loni explained: ‘When I think about music, I also think about my brother, who was born deaf.
‘When we were talking about this Bleeding Gums character in our initial brainstorms, we thought, wouldn’t it be cool if Lisa discovers this whole other side of his life.
‘That led to him having a son, and then we based that character at least somewhat on my brother. And the story grew from there.’
The episode comes after deaf actor Tony Kotsur’s historic Oscars win last month, where he was awarded best supporting actor for his role in Coda, which also won the coveted best picture gong on the night.
Loni also viewed Coda and believes the representation is ‘great’ as there are ‘so many stories to be told’ about the experiences of deaf people.
