The Simpsons is so institutionalized at this point—with its main cast, and even many of its most prominent supporting players, having been firmly in place for more than 35 years—that even a shake-up to its tertiary characters can feel seismic. Last year, we reported that veteran voice performer Pamela Hayden, who voiced both bullying victims Milhouse Van Houten and Rod Flanders, and bullying distributor Jimbo Jones, was leaving the show after a scant 34 seasons on the job. (Lightweight.) Now, EW reports that at least one of those roles has been filled, with news that Mo Collins will take over the part of Jimbo.
Classic Fox fans will likely have been introduced to Collins via her tenure on Mad TV back in the 1990s, but those of you who cannot actively feel themselves turning to dust right now might be more familiar from her recurring role as Pawnee Walk Of Fame Inductee (and Game Of Joans) author Joan Callamezzo on Parks And Rec. Collins is, weirdly, no stranger to the “teen bully in an adult-aimed animated sitcom” beat: She voiced a character named Jimmy Fitzsimmons in Netflix’s F Is For Familythat we’d characterize as “vaguely Jimbo-esque.”
We’re guessing, from the way this is being rolled out, that Collins won’t also be taking on the other roles Hayden vacated, notably Milhouse. (Her voice is on the low end, and everybody’s favorite dud works in the higher registers.) The Simpsons has done this kind of shuffling with its non-main voice cast before: Jimbo actually started as a Tress MacNeille character, before Hayden took him over, and Russi Taylor’s death in 2019 saw the series recruit ridiculously prolific voice actress Grey DeLisle to take on parts like Martin Prince. That’s to say nothing of the casting changes that happened when the show rethought its stance on white performers playing characters of color, which saw Alex Désert take over the role of Carl Carlson. (Hank Azaria actually gave a new podcast interview this week on the Apu/Carl topic, charting his own journey toward coming to the decision that he was “participating in a harm here” by playing the roles.)
The Simpsons just picked up a four-season renewal notice from Fox, which will extend the show out to its 40th season. The show is currently in the midst of its 36th season; Collins will debut in her new part with this Sunday’s episode.
