Kevin Michael Richardson will replace Harry Shearer as the voice of Springfield's resident family physician Dr. Julius Hibbert on Fox's The Simpsons.
According to Vulture, Richardson will take over beginning with the Feb. 28 episode, "Wad Goals."
The cast shakeup comes after The Simpsons and other animated series (and in some cases, the actors themselves) promised to recast roles for characters of color with voice actors of color. This effort became a priority for numerous productions in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that swept the nation in the summer of 2020. "Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have White actors voice non-White characters," the series' team declared in June 2020.
Since then, The Simpsons has cast Alex Désert as the new voice of Homer's coworker and fellow Moe's barfly Carl Carlson, taking over from Hank Azaria, who also stepped down as the voice of Apu.
The Simpsons stars the voices of Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria. New episodes air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
Source: Vulture