The Simpsons to Feature Deaf Voice Actor, American Sign Language in Upcoming Episode

The Simpsons have been on the air for 33 years, but even after more than three decades the series will feature a first on Sunday: a deaf actor using American Sign Language. In the episode, "The Sound of Bleeding Gums", Lisa Simpson will discover that her role model and favorite musician, the late Bleeding Gums Murphy, has a son, Monk Murphy, who is deaf and needs a cochlear implant leading Lisa to try to help him.

"It's very hard to do a first after 722 episodes, but I couldn't be more excited about this one," series executive producer Al Jean told CNN.

The story for the episode is loosely based on the life of its main writer, Loni Steele Sosthand, whose own brother is deaf in a family that loves jazz. Sosthand said that it's something that shaped who she is, making the story close to her own heart and identity.

"Having a brother, who is just a year older, who was born deaf, really shaped who I am as a person," Sosthand said. "So, it is a story not just close to my heart, but close to my identity."

She added, "There are many autobiographical themes in the episode regarding the tension between a love a music and loved ones who are deaf — themes also present in CODA, but very much from my own life."

The Simpsons producers consulted to ASL specialists for the episode, who helped ensure that even though Simpsons characters only have four fingers, the meaning of the words used in the episode were correctly conveyed. A deaf actor, John Autry II, will also be playing Monk and the episode will also feature three kids (Ian Mayorga, Kaylee Arellano, and Hazel Lopez) from No Limits, a nonprofit for deaf children, for the song "Happy Talk" from South Pacific.

"The song says, 'If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true.' While watching them record, I just had tears in my eyes the whole time, realizing this is a dream come true for all of us," Sosthand said.

Though the episode is not inspired by CODA—it was in the works long before the movie according to Jean— "The Sound of Bleeding Gums" comes just two weeks after CODA's win big wins at the Academy Awards. That film is about the hearing daughter of a deaf family who wants to carve her own path as a musician rather than joining her family's fishing business and continuing to serve as their hearing link to the world. That film won numerous awards, including for Best Picture and a historic win for actor Troy Kotsur who became the first deaf actor to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. It also follows the debut of Marvel's first deaf superhero in Eternals, played by Lauren Ridloff.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, approximately 15 percent of American adults aged 18 and over report some issues with hearing. That's around 37.5 million people and while that encompasses any sort of hearing issue, around 28.8 million American adults could benefit from the use of hearing aids. One in eight people in the U.S. over the age of twelve has hearing loss in both ears. The takeaway is that hearing loss and deafness has a wide impact, making representation all the more important. As for The Simpsons, Jean says he's looking forward to viewers seeing the episode—and even promises a happy, albeit unexpected ending.

"I'm a sucker for a happy ending," Jean said. "Though it's not quite the one you expect."

The Simpsons airs Sundays at 8/7c on Fox.