Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Kerry Washington (Cars 3) has signed on for a recurring role in the latest season of The Simpsons. Washington will be lending her voice to the character of Rayshelle Peyton, Bart Simpson’s newest teacher who is described as a “thoughtful, highly capable, and rather unfiltered fourth-grade teacher.”
In addition, Fox has also released a brand new clip, which you can check out below, featuring our first look at Washington’s Mrs. Peyton as she gets to the complicated Bart Simpson.
Bart has never had a teacher like her.
Will @kerrywashington be able to get through to him this Sunday? pic.twitter.com/BDZSzzKnlT
— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) April 21, 2022
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Washington’s Ms. Peyton will first appear in the upcoming episode titled “My Octopus and a Teacher,” which is set to air this Sunday, April 24. Her casting comes nearly ten years since the animated series had retired Bart’s first teacher Mrs. Krabappel, following the death of Marcia Wallace, who had been with the long-running animated series since its debut.
“She’s a great teacher,” Washington said in a statement. “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.”
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The Simpsons is currently led by long-time voice cast members, Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Julie Kavner as Marge, Nancy Cartwright as Bart, and Yeardley Smith as Lisa.
Created by Matt Groening (Futurama, Disenchantment), The Simpsons has been on-air for more than 30 years and had become a pop-culture phenomenon. The animated series has already scored its 34th season renewal earlier this year.