Hulu Revives ‘Futurama’ — Who’s Returning?
Futurama‘s not done yet.
Hulu has ordered a revival consisting of 20 episodes, set to go into production in February and premiere in 2023. The animated series ran for four seasons on Fox before its cancellation in 2003. Then four movies were released on DVD in 2007. After Comedy Central aired those as 30-minute episodes, it picked up the show for more seasons, until 2013.
Returning from the original cast are Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman. Missing from that list right now is John DiMaggio (who voiced Bender). The series follows Philip Fry (West), a 25-year-old pizza delivery boy who accidentally freezes himself on December 31, 1999 and wakes up 1,000 years later with a fresh start at life and a “diverse” new group of friends including Leela (Sagal), a tough but lovely one-eyed alien and Bender, a robot who possesses human characteristics and flaws.
The animated comedy was created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. “I’m thrilled to have another chance to think about the future… or really anything other than the present,” Cohen said in a statement, with Groening adding, “It’s a true honor to announce the triumphant return of Futurama one more time before we get canceled abruptly again.”
“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,” said Craig Erwich, President, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment.
Added Marci Proietto, head of animation at 20th Television Animation, “What I love about animation is that it’s possible for a successful show to take a pause and then resume years later, even on a different platform, and pick up right where it left off. Futurama is one of those shows. The excitement from Hulu about returning Matt and David’s genius creation for all-new episodes has been off the charts. I’m thrilled that this incredible team will get to tell more stories, and that our Planet Express crew will have more adventures together. It’s a win for the fans who have loved the show since the beginning, and for the ones who will now discover it for the very first time.”
During its run, Futurama won six Emmys, including two for Outstanding Animated Program.
