Notorious nuclear power mogul Montgomery Burns is out, after decades of gross mismanagement, evildoing and general non-excellence. Or, more specifically, the man behind Montgomery Burns is being replaced.
This morning, various executives associated with The Simpsons announced that original cast member Harry Shearer will not be part of the show’s upcoming 27th season, due to some vague disagreement over Shearer’s desire to simultaneously work on other projects. That means the man who voiced Mr. Burns — not to mention his loyal assistant Waylon Smithers — is moving on to less yellow pastures.
The characters Shearer voiced, however, will remain — according to a tweet from Simpsons showrunner Al Jean:
So while all of this works itself out, perhaps Mr. Burns can work up his next economics lesson…
UPDATE: Perhaps not all hope is lost…
Hey, we tried. We're still trying. Harry, no kidding, let's talk.
— james l. brooks (@canyonjim) May 14, 2015