Crisis averted: we've just learned that voice actor Harry Shearer will not be leaving The Simpsons after all.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Shearer has officially signed on for Season 27 of The Simpsons. This news comes seven weeks after the actor tweeted that he would be leaving the show in order to have the freedom to do other work, as we previously reported.
So it was a dispute over scheduling rather than over salary, but those issues were apparently worked out behind the scenes. Shearer has signed the same contract as the rest of the main cast, a four season deal that pays $300,000 per episode.
Now the entire main cast is back and the show continues on. Shearer leaving would have been a pretty big deal, as he voices many of the series' most iconic characters including Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner, Reverend Lovejoy, and Kent Brockman. Had he actually left the show, the plan was to have the returning cast take over and voice those characters, but luckily fans won't have to worry about that anymore.
Season 27 of The Simpsons, now complete with the full cast, will air on Fox this fall.
image via Jean Catuffe/INFGoff.com