"The Simpsons" to Feature Deaf Actor, Sign Language for First Time

American animated series "The Simpsons", which has been running for 33 years, will introduce its new character Monk on Sunday.

The new episode titled, "The Sound of Bleeding Gums", will feature its first-ever deaf voice actor, John Autry II.

The actor— whose past credits include appearances on "Glee" and "I Hear You" — portrays Monk, the long-lost son of Lisa Simpson's role model and favorite musician, "Bleeding Gums" Murphy, who died in season 6.

The episode centers around Lisa's finding about Monk and his need for a cochlear implant, who gets a little too carried away trying to help him.

It will also include another first, which is Monk's use of American Sign Language (ASL).

In a statement on Saturday, Autry II called the role "life-changing" for him.

The groundbreaking episode was not written after the Best Picture Oscar feature "CODA" — a movie about the hearing daughter of two deaf parents.

The idea of the episode was in the works long before the movie.

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