Futurama

This article is about the animated comedy television series. For other uses, see Futurama (disambiguation).

Futurama
Genre
Created byMatt Groening
Developed by
Voices of
Opening theme"Theme from Futurama"
ComposerChristopher Tyng
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes160 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
EditorsPaul D. Calder
Danik Thomas
Chris Vallance
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseMarch 28, 1999 (1999-03-28) –
August 10, 2003 (2003-08-10)
NetworkComedy Central
ReleaseMarch 23, 2008 (2008-03-23) –
September 4, 2013 (2013-09-04)
NetworkHulu
ReleaseJuly 24, 2023 (2023-07-24) –
present (present)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1,000 years and revived on December 31, 2999. Fry finds work at the interplanetary delivery company Planet Express, working alongside the one-eyed mutant Leela and the robot Bender. The series was envisioned by Groening in the mid-1990s while working on The Simpsons; he brought David X. Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox.[2]

Following its initial cancellation by Fox, Futurama began airing reruns on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, which lasted from 2003 to 2007. It was revived in 2007 as four direct-to-video films, the last of which was released in early 2009. Comedy Central entered into an agreement with 20th Century Fox Television to syndicate the existing episodes and air the films as 16 new, half-hour episodes, constituting a fifth season.[3][4]

In June 2009, Comedy Central picked up the show for 26 new half-hour episodes, which began airing in 2010 and 2011.[5][6] The show was renewed for a seventh season, with the first half airing in 2012 and the second in 2013.[7][8][9] An audio-only episode featuring the original cast members was released in 2017 as an episode of The Nerdist Podcast.[10] On February 9, 2022, Hulu revived the series with a 20-episode order, which premiered on July 24, 2023.[11][12] In November 2023, the show was renewed by Hulu for two more broadcast seasons, which will air through 2026.[13][14]

Futurama received critical acclaim throughout its run and was nominated for 17 Annie Awards, winning nine of them, and 12 Emmy Awards, winning six. It was nominated four times for a Writers Guild of America Award, winning for the episodes "Godfellas" and "The Prisoner of Benda". It was nominated for a Nebula Award and received Environmental Media Awards for the episodes "The Problem with Popplers" and "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular".[15] Merchandise includes a tie-in comic book series, video games, calendars, clothes, and action figures. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Futurama one of the top 60 Greatest TV Cartoons of All Time.[16]

  1. ^ Layton, Matt (February 10, 2023). "Hulu revives US adult animation hit 'Futurama'". Television Business International. Archived from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  2. ^ Seibold, Witney (July 8, 2022). "How Futurama Found The Right Balance Of Comedy And Sci-Fi". /Film. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Topel, Fred (January 28, 2007). "Groening's Bargain to Yield Four Futurama Movies". Reuters. Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2008.
  4. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (June 22, 2006). ""Futurama" gets new life on Comedy Central". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 3, 2008.
  5. ^ "Comedy Central's 'South Park,' 'Lil' Bush,' More to Return in March". August 2, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  6. ^ Adalian, Josef; Gelman, Vlada (February 2, 2010). "Things Are Looking Good for Another Season of Futurama". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Hibberd, James (March 24, 2011). "'Futurama' renewed for two more years!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 28, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  8. ^ "Comedy Central® renews "Futurama" for 26 new episodes". Comedy Central Press Release. March 29, 2011. Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  9. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (April 22, 2013). "Comedy Central Cancels 'Futurama'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  10. ^ Snierson, Dan (September 8, 2017). "Futurama returns — but there's a twist". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference hulurevival was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference teaser was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Rice, Lynette (November 2, 2023). "'Futurama' Renewed For Two More Seasons By Hulu". Deadline. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  14. ^ Massoto, Erick (November 2, 2023). "'Futurama' Renewed for Two More Seasons". Collider. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  15. ^ "21st Annual Environmental Media Awards". October 2011. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  16. ^ Sands, Rich (September 24, 2013). "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Greatest Cartoons of All Time". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2014.


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