Summary
- Despite being taken off the air multiple times, Futurama has a devoted cult following and iconic characters like Fry and Bender.
- Fox's lack of confidence in the show led to its cancellation after season 4, even with the success of The Simpsons.
- Comedy Central revived Futurama with new films and seasons until its final cancellation after season 7, marking a beloved series finale.
Matt Groening's follow-up to The Simpsons, working within the same half-hour animated comedy format, but with the potential for more outlandish concepts by virtue of its being set in the distant future.
In the years since the show's creation, Futurama has developed a devoted cult following and made instantly-recognizable icons cast of Planet Express characters like Fry, Leela, Bender, and Dr. Zoidberg. A number of gags have even taken on a second life as ubiquitous memes. Primarily a comedy show, Futurama is just as often ired for its science-fictional aspects, largely due to the influence of its highly-educated writers' room. Ken Keeler famously proved a mathematical theorem in writing his solution to the body-swapping problem of the episode "The Prisoner of Benda."
When The Futurama Season 12 Finale Releases & How Many Episodes There Are
Futurama season 12 is finally here, and here is how long fans have until the season 12 finale is released, as well as when every other episode airs.
How Many Times Futurama Has Been Canceled
It Is Surprising Considering The Show's Reputation
Despite its reputation, Futurama was only ever canceled two times, although twice that many Futurama finales have been prepared. Throughout the show's first four seasons, Fox was reportedly very unive, constantly shuffling its time slot and delaying the airing of episodes (via Looper). This indifference is odd given the fact that, at the same time, The Simpsons was continuing to be a massive success for the network, claiming the title of longest-running American sitcom.
Why Futurama Was Canceled By Fox After Season 4
Fox Wasn't Confident In The Show
Despite the successes of its sister show, Fox ceased buying episodes of Futurama, bringing about its (first) demise. This is because Fox's time slot shifting and lack of confidence in the show led to ratings that didn't justify the show's relatively expensive budgets. As a result, the first series finale came at the end of season 4 with the semi-musical "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings," a song from which was nominated for an Emmy.
8 Things That Happen In Every Episode Of Futurama
Futurama's formula allows several things to happen again and again without feeling stale, with certain repeat events getting funnier each time.
Why Futurama Was Canceled By Comedy Central After Season 7
The Show Had Run Its Course
After years of successful syndication on Adult Swim, Comedy Central revived the series by backing the creation of four new straight-to-DVD Futurama films, which are now considered to constitute season 5. The venture was standalone, however, with no guarantee of continuation, so the last film, Into The Wild Green Yonder, served as an open-ended finale, with all of the main characters flying the Planet Express ship into an unknowable wormhole.
Luckily, Comedy Central eventually decided to see what was on the other side, following the films with a full sixth season. Again, the future of the partnership was uncertain, so the season 6 finale, "Overclockwise," was written as a potential series finale, with its last moments giving an ambiguous but hopeful look into the future of Fry and Leela's relationship.
The series was ultimately renewed for a seventh season, but this would be its last before Comedy Central dealt Futurama its second proper cancelation, making "Meanwhile" the current holder of the Futurama "series finale" title. And a worthy holder it is, combining some of the show's best elements by using a deceptively simple time travel puzzle to give Fry and Leela a long, happy life together before bringing the story back around to the beginning.
Futurama Season 12: Release Date, Cast, Trailer & Everything We Know
After several years away, Futurama returned for a successful season 11, and there is already big news regarding the season 12.
Hulu's Futurama Revival Explained (& Why It Begins With Season 11 Instead Of 8)
The Production Order Is DIfferent From The Release Order
Although Futurama had seemingly met its demise twice, fate was not done with it yet, as Hulu revived the show once more. However, the true nature of Futurama's episode count is a big confusing, as Hulu considers the two new seasons to be seasons 11 and 12 rather than season 8.
The reason for this confusing numbering discrepancy has to do with the the difference in Futurama's production seasons and its release seasons. When Futurama was revived by Comedy Central, two 26-episode seasons were ordered, with these being conisdered seasons 6 and 7 (via CBR). However, the channel ended up releasing them as four 13-episode seasons, splitting each season in half. So, based on the release order, there were 10 seasons of Futurama before its second cancelation, with Hulu's first revival season being the eleventh.
Sources: CBR, Looper
Futurama
- Release Date
- March 28, 1999
- Network
- Comedy Central
- Showrunner
- Matt Groening
Cast
Katey Sagal
Billy West
WHERE TO WATCH
Futurama 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.
- Directors
- Matt Groening
- Writers
- Matt Groening
- Seasons
- 9
- Streaming Service(s)
- Prime Video
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