It was almost a decade ago that The Simpsons saw the loss of one of its most beloved characters, Mrs. Krabappel. The heavy-smoking teacher who was a thorn in Bart's side was retired following the death of voice actress Marcia Wallace, and since that time, there hasn't been another character introduced to fill that void—until now. This week, it was officially announced that Scandal icon Kerry Washington would be adding her name to the Simpsons cast by portraying Bart's new teacher, Ms. Peyton.
"She's a great teacher," Washington told Entertainment Weekly. "But like all the best teachers, she knows that her students have just as much to teach her as she has to teach them. And teaching Bart is a job filled with growth opportunities."
In the summer of 2020, Washington tweeted interest in doing voice acting and the Simpsons team reached out. Although she didn't get back to them immediately, the actress now admits that the interaction was what set forth her landing the gig as Ms. Peyton.
"I'm just a huge Simpsons fan!" said Washington. "What an extraordinary legacy to be a part of! And I thought the idea of playing Bart's teacher was so funny. I used to be a teacher in NYC public schools. And my mother is a retired teacher. Teaching is, to me, a sacred profession. I could only imagine the laughs involved in teaching Bart."
When describing the new animated character, co-executive producer Carolyn Omine revealed, "She blurts [things] out. She's a little too honest, in a very, very sweet, quirky way. She has a very ambitious project, and she seems like she's going to be able to at least whip up the other teachers to raise their level a little bit too. She's inspiring. She can be, as they say, 'a lot.' But she's also fun."
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