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Good news everyone; Futurama has returned! It has been nearly 10 years since we last traveled with the Planet Express Crew; and now, Matt Groening’s Futurama is back with a bang, and this time on Hulu. The announcement came in February 2022, when the popular sitcom was ordered for a 20-episode revival, or technically its eleventh and twelfth seasons, with the first 10 episodes to be released this summer.
For those who are new to the world of Futurama, the adult animated sitcom follows Philip Fry, a 25-year-old pizza delivery boy who gets accidentally frozen on New Year's Eve 1999 and wakes up 1000 years later. The sitcom’s plot focuses on his life as he gets a fresh start with a new group of friends. If you are already a fan of The Simpsons and other projects of Groening, then you would surely love Futurama. After all, it has comedy, sci-fi, and a lot of the creator’s signature quirky materials that never get old. But considering this revival is a continuation of its previous chapters from Comedy Central and on Fox, where it originally aired, you might want to catch up on the earlier seasons, all of which are now available for streaming on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in other territories.
Created by Groening and David X.Cohen, Futurama is known for being a long-running sitcom and a long-time favorite and has been appreciated for its subversive and brilliant comedy sketches, with the show winning six Emmy Awards and two Writers Guild of America Awards, not to mention the millions of viewers and fans over the decades. So, it’s no surprise that the sitcom got another chance for revival, though a decade late.
With the show set to hit the streaming platform this summer, here’s everything we know so far about the Futurama revival, including the release window, plot, trailer, cast, and characters.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on June 27 to include the newest trailer.
Futurama
TV-14Comedy Sci-FiAnimationFuturama follows the exploits of Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from 1999 who is cryogenically frozen for 1000 years. Waking up in the year 3000, Fry befriends a cyclops named Leela and a roguish robot named Bender, and the three find employment with Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery service. Their work takes them to all corners of the universe, exploring space and the future as imagined by Matt Groening and the creators of The Simpsons.
Release Date March 28, 1999 Cast Billy West , John Di Maggio , Katey Sagal , Phil LaMarr , Lauren Tom , Tress MacNeille , David Herman , Frank Welker Main Genre Animation Seasons 12 Website http://www.facebook.com/Futurama Studio Comedy Central ExpandWhen Is the Futurama Reboot Coming Out?
It was officially announced that the first episode of Futurama Season 11 will be available to stream on Monday, July 24, 2023, with subsequent episodes being released weekly on Mondays.
Where Can You Watch the Futurama Reboot?
The Futurama reboot will be available to stream only on Hulu (and on Disney+ in international markets), joining the streamer's solid roster of other popular adult animated sitcoms like Family Guy, Rick and Morty, Bob’s Burgers, and King of the Hill (which will also be receiving a Hulu revival of its own).
Is There a Trailer for the Futurama Reboot?
A teaser for the new season was released on Hulu's YouTube page on May 18, 2023, announcing the premiere date for the new episodes.
Hulu released the official trailer for the new season of Futurama advertising that "The people who brought you Futurama; bring you more Futurama!"
The two-minute preview teases some of the more modern topics that the new season will cover including COVID-19, vaccines, Amazon's Alexa, manscaping, and cryptocurrency.
Who Is Returning for the Futurama Reboot?
Great news! The original main cast of Futurama is returning once again to voice the characters. The ensemble voice cast features Billy West as Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Zap Brannigan, and Zoidberg, Katey Sagal as Leela, Tress MacNeille as "Mom", Lauren Tom as Amy Wong, Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad, Maurice LaMarche as Kif, and David Herman as Scruffy.
John DiMaggio initially wasn't going to return to voice the fan-favorite character of Bender, citing pay disputes, and believing that the entire cast deserved to be paid more. After extensive negotiations, a deal was finally made and DiMaggio officially signed on to reprise his role as Bender.
It was revealed that the late rapper Coolio, who passed away last September, reprised his role as KwanzaaBot and recorded new dialogue and music for the new season weeks before his passing.
How Many Episodes Are There in the Futurama Reboot?
The revived eleventh season of Futurama is slated for 10 episodes, of 20 minutes each. The new season will see the show returning to some earlier popular but still relevant plot lines and subjects, but at the same time it will also explore some more contemporary and timely issues.
Check out the available details of all the episodes of the all-new season of Futurama –
Episode 1: “The Impossible Stream”, written by Patric M. Verrone
Episode 2: “Children Of A Lesser Bog”, written by Eric Horsted
Episode 3: “How The West Was 1010001”, written by Nona di Spargement
Episode 4: “Parasites Regained”, written by Maiya Williams
Episode 5: “Related To Items You’ve Viewed”, written by David A. Goodman
Episode 6: “I Know What You Did Last Xmas”, written by Ariel Ladensohn
Episode 7: “Rage Against The Vaccine”, written by Cody Ziglar
Episode 8: “Zapp Gets Cancelled”, written by Shirin Najafi
Episode 9: “The Prince And The Product”, written by Ari John Kaplan & Eric Kaplan
Episode 10: “All The Way Down”, written by David X. Cohen
Both Groening and Cohen are credited as directors for various episodes of the season.
Who Are the Creators of Futurama?
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Futurama is the brainchild of none other than Matt Groening which he developed with David X.Cohen, two names also associated with yet another historical sitcom, The Simpsons. Groening is best known for creating The Simpsons, where Cohen has also been a writer. The duo developed Futurama during the run of The Simpsons in 1997 and also created Disenchantment. Cohen has previously written for Beavis and the Butt-head, while Groening has also worked on The Tracey Ullman Show as a writer and animator. He has also made several movie spin-offs from The Simpsons and Futurama, between 2007 and 2022.
Both Groening and Cohen also served as executive producers for Futurama along with Ken Keeler, as well as showrunners during the sitcom’s entire run and even functioned as creative consultants. Now, the original creative team returns for the Hulu revival of the hit sitcom, so you can expect nothing short of great humor and as enjoyable as it has been in its earlier seasons. The sci-fi sitcom is produced by 20th Television Animation, a part of Disney Television Studios, in collaboration with Rough Draft Studios, Inc.
What Is the Background of Futurama?
While working on The Simpsons, in 1997, Groening and Cohen started working on Futurama, as a companion to the already long-standing hit sitcom. Futurama first aired in March 1999 on Fox Network and ran for four seasons until 2003. In 2008, the sitcom was picked up by Comedy Central for all new episodes and ran on the network for three seasons until 2013.
To date, Futurama has aired 130 episodes of 20–30 minutes each, spread across 10 seasons and 10–12 years of its airing. Of these, two episodes, “Godfellas” from the third season and “The Prisoner of Brenda” from the sixth season became award-winning episodes. In 2014, in the sixth episode of the 26th season of The Simpsons, there was a crossover between the two popular shows, called “Simpsorama”, where “After unearthing a time capsule, the Planet Express crew travel through time to Springfield to stop the Simpson family from destroying the future.”
What Is the Story of Futurama, and What Can We Expect From the Reboot?
Hulu's official press release for the series reads:
“FUTURAMA'' premiered in 1999 and quickly gained a faithful following and critical acclaim, including two primetime Emmys for Outstanding Animated Program. Despite its far-future setting, the show is renowned for its satiric commentary on life in the present. The series follows Philip J. Fry (Billy West), a New York City pizza delivery boy, who accidentally freezes himself in 1999 and gets defrosted in the year 3000. In this astonishing New New York, he befriends hard-drinking robot Bender (John DiMaggio), and falls in love with cyclops Leela (Katey Sagal). The trio find work at the Planet Express Delivery Company, founded by Fry’s doddering descendant, Professor Hubert Farnsworth. Together with accountant Hermes Conrad, assistant Amy Wong, and alien lobster Dr. John Zoidberg, they embark on thrilling adventures that take them to every corner of the universe. After its initial run on the Fox Broadcasting Network, a roller-coaster of cancellations and resurrections ensued. Four successful direct-to-DVD releases in 2007-2009 led to the show's rebirth on Comedy Central from 2010-2013. Then, after a brief ten-year freeze in the cryogenic chamber, FUTURAMA emerged triumphantly as a streaming series for Hulu with a 20-episode order set to debut in 2023.
When he wakes up, Philip is taken in by his only descendent, an old and bumbling scientist, Professor; Capt. Leela, a tough but charming one-eyed alien; accountant Hermes; an intern named Amy; an obnoxious robot named Bender, and a lobster-like freeloader named Dr. Zoidberg.
Although Futurama is returning after a decade, it’s technically a new season. And in some ways, the final episode of the last season that aired in 2013 seems like a good starting point for the upcoming episodes to pick up. The last season ended with Fry and Leela getting old together and living a happy life but planning to set out on their crazy adventures once again, but the Professor builds a device that sends them back in time with no memory of so far.
The official synopsis for Futurama Season 11 reads:
After a brief ten-year hiatus, Futurama has crawled triumphantly from the cryogenic tube, its full original cast and satirical spirit intact. The ten all-new episodes of season eleven have something for everyone. New viewers will be able to pick up the series from here, while long-time fans will recognize payoffs to decades-long mysteries – including developments in the epic love story of Fry and Leela, the mysterious contents of Nibbler's litter box, the secret history of evil Robot Santa, and the whereabouts of Kif and Amy's tadpoles. Meanwhile there's a whole new pandemic in town as the crew explores the future of vaccines, bitcoin, cancel culture, and streaming TV.
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