Futurama is officially getting a revival. Following Hulu's announcement, fans started to prepare themselves for new episodes of the animated sitcom from Simpsons creator Matt Groening. After all, who doesn't like to watch the adventures of cryogenically preserved humans interacting with robots and space creatures? The series first ran on Fox between March 1999 and August 2003 and was later picked up by Comedy Central from March 2008 to September 2013.
It is a long-time fan favorite, winning six Emmys, two Writers Guild of America Awards, and the hearts of its audience. So, it's not a surprise that fans – and the show's producers – are thrilled to welcome a new 20-episode run that will air on Hulu in the near future.
Futurama had 140 episodes, with 30 minutes each, spread over seven seasons during its almost ten years being aired. Two of them became award-winning episodes – the third season's "Godfellas" and the sixth season's "The Prisoner of Brenda," with many becoming fan favorites. Also, Futurama was a part of "Simpsorama," a crossover with the most beloved animated family, The Simpsons, which aired in November 2014 on Fox.
The new season will have 20 fresh opportunities to earn Futurama all-new awards as Hulu announced that the season would have 20 episodes, with 30 minutes duration, directed by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen – who also worked in The Simpsons. The show has the potential to continue with more episodes, but that all depends on the viewing rate and the public's response.
Craig Erwich, president of originals at Hulu and ABC Entertainment, said:
"When presented with the opportunity to bring fans and viewers new episodes of Futurama, we couldn't wait to dive in. This iconic series helped blaze the trail for the success of adult animation since its initial launch, and we look forward to Matt & David continuing to pave the way and further establishing Hulu as the premiere destination for fans of the genre."
Futurama season 8 getting renewed through Hulu is a result of the streaming platform's business deals with 20th Century Fox Television Distribution, which dates back to 2017. Today, Futurama still remains popular. Fans continue to revisit its seven seasons over and over again, as well as looking for information and anecdotes about the show, as well as the actors who gave voice to the characters that marked a generation.
While we wait for the new season of the show to premiere, let's take a look at everything we know about the Futurama revival!
Updated: October 2022 by Raquel Morales: If you are excited about Futurama season 8, you’ll be happy to read this updated article that provides the cast, plot, and everything else you need to know about the show.
Futurama Season 8: The Plot & Episodes
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The synopsis of Futurama is as follows:
Accidentally frozen, pizza-deliverer Fry wakes up 1,000 years in the future. He is taken in by his sole descendant, an elderly and addled scientist who owns a small cargo delivery service. Among the other crew members are Capt. Leela, accountant Hermes, intern Amy, obnoxious robot Bender and lobsterlike moocher "Dr." Zoidberg.
The show's finale that aired in 2013, "Meanwhile," is a perfect launching point for the revival. The episode's events saw Fry and Leela grow old and happy together. However, they agree to go on their zany adventures once again when the Professor builds a device capable of altering the universe and sending them back in time with no memory of what has happened.
If the new show picks up following those events, will we see some of the same storylines as before, but with changes? Or all-new stories? Perhaps both? Only time will tell.
What is clear is that this ending leaves open the possibility that Futurama season 8 starts from scratch. The show can pretend that nothing that fans saw in the last seven seasons happened, being able to rewrite its own history. This would give Futurama season 8 a chance to correct the mistakes the show made along the way. However, this possibility is a double-edged sword since it can also disappoint loyal fans who fondly remember the adventures they had with their favorite characters for seven years.
At the moment, no concrete details are known about what direction the show will take in this regard. But there are some more clues about Futurama season 8: the titles of the first ten episodes. In order, these are: "The Impossible Stream," "Rage Against The Vaccine," "Zapp Gets Cancelled," "The Prince And The Product," "Related To Items You've Viewed," "Kip Gets Knocked Up A Notch," “How The West Was 1010001," “I Know What You Did Last Xmas," “Parasites Regained," and “All The Way Down." As for the next ten episodes, their titles are yet to be revealed.
Futurama Season 8: The Cast
It's not a true revival if the original cast members aren't signed on. Fans will be happy to know that show regulars, including Katey Sagal, who voices Leela, are excited to return. In an interview with CinemaBlend, Sagal said this about her return and the show's revival:
The best. The easiest. I love that job. I just did it yesterday. We recorded an episode and I just…it was so much fun. It’s just great, great writing, great characters. I’m never surprised when it’s rebooted, because it’s constantly rebooted. It has such a great fan base. Thank you to anybody who watches Futurama. I mean it’s really not a problem at all. And everybody just falls right in. We know what’s happening, so it was great. It’s been great. We’ve been - I think we’re doing like 18 of them this year.
Apart from this, Futurama season 8 will treat fans to a surprise that will put some sad smiles on their faces. It was announced that Coolio will posthumously be heard as the voice of KwanzaaBot as he previously recorded his dialogue and music.
Back in February, John DiMaggio, who was the voice of Bender for the show's seven seasons, wasn't going to return to the role. This happened after he and Hulu couldn't reach a deal about his compensation. It's hard to imagine another actor who could step in for such a remarkable voice as DiMaggio's Bender. He is also known for voicing Jake the Dog in Adventure Time, Sandman in The Spectacular Spider-Man, and, most recently, King Zøg in Disenchantment, another Matt Groening creation. DiMaggio also tweeted a message for his fans, saying that he'll keep them posted.
But on March 1, 2022, DiMaggio confirmed he would be returning to the show on social media:
"I’M BACK, BABY! So damn grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike during this whole time (especially my wife, Kate), and I cannot wait to get back to work with my ‘Futurama’ family. #Bendergate is officially over, so put it on the back of a shelf behind Xmas decorations, or maybe in that kitchen drawer with all of the other crap you put in there like old unusable crazy glue, or maybe even put it in a jar you save farts in. Whatever floats your boat, I don’t care, you get the picture. I’M BACK, BABY! BITE MY SHINY METAL A**!”
At Phoenix Fan Fusion on May 28, 2022, DiMaggio spoke more about his prior disputes with the network and streamer about his contract and involvement with the revival.
"This was the best thing about that fight: I had Disney, Hulu, I was holding on to their collective testicles so hard that they couldn't, y'know, there was nowhere for them to go," he said at the panel. "But there was also nowhere for me to go, and who wants to hold on to those for that long?"
The actor even shared Bender Beach art to celebrate the show's return and its upcoming premiere. So, fans can rest easy knowing the whole Planet Express crew will be back. This includes Billy West, Tress MacNeille (Leela's Mom, Linda, others), Lauren Tom (Amy Wong), Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad, others), Maurice LaMarche (Calculon, Kif, Hedonismbot, others), and David Herman (Scruffy) also reprising their roles.
Release Date
It is interesting to note that Futurama has a trend with years that end in the number three. The show's first cancelation was announced in 2003 after Matt Groening complained that Fox did not support the show while it was a sitcom on their channel. The final episode of the seventh season, "Meanwhile," was aired on Comedy Central in 2013.
"I'm thrilled to have another chance to think about the future… or really anything other than the present," Cohen said about Hulu's revival. Groening added, jokingly, "It's a true honor to announce the triumphant return of Futurama one more time before we get canceled abruptly again," since both of Futurama's previous runs were cut short, despite it being a show designed to play for the long term.
Now, Hulu's revival is set to premiere in 2023, but the streaming service still hasn't announced a definitive date.