Harry Shearer

Hi-diddly-ho! Shearer returns to 'Simpsons'

Bill Keveney

USA TODAY

All is well in Springfield once more, as Harry Shearer returns to the fold. The actor, who voiced a good portion of the 'Simpsons' characters, has signed a new contract.

Burns returns.

After a dramatic departure in May, Harry Shearer, the voice of Mr. Burns, Smithers and Ned Flanders, is back in The Simpsons' fold, Fox announced in a release Tuesday.

The actor will be back for the 27th and 28th seasons of the groundbreaking Fox animated comedy, signing the same deal as fellow voice performers Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria. The Simpsons, recently picked up for two more seasons, will hit 625 episodes during the run.

Shearer, whose other characters include Principal Skinner and Reverend Lovejoy, caused a stir in May when he tweeted that he wouldn't return. Members of The Simpsons braintrust said they would hire other actors to portray his iconic characters, but they held out hope that he might eventually be back.

According to Fox, The Simpsons averaged 7.6 million viewers across all viewing platforms last season and it ranks among the Top 20 in adults 18 to 34.

Entertainment Weekly first reported Shearer's return earlier Tuesday.

The Shearer news even found its way into presidential politics, as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, tweeted he was responsible for the actor's return: "It appears Harry Shearer was so horrified by my Simpsons impressions he agreed to return."

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