Is ‘Futurama’ Leaving Netflix?

Now may be a really good time for an intergalactic binge. It looks like Matt Groening’s beloved space comedy is leaving Netflix. The internet has been ablaze with rumors that Futurama is leaving Netflix on July 1, and it looks like those rumors are true … to an extent.

Featuring the voice acting talents of Billy West, Katey Sagal, and John DiMaggio, the show about a 20-something slacker being sent to the year 3000 lasted 140 episodes but not without some difficulty. Created in 1999, the series lasted until 2003 when its original network Fox unofficially cancelled the show. After that Comedy Central stepped in, helping produce four longer mini-events in the franchise and later reviving the series for an additional 52 episodes in 2010. Over its many years on and off the air, the show has developed a strong cult following. It’s also one of those highly-bingeable shows that increased and strengthened its loyal audience through streaming. In short, Futurama is one of Netflix’s hidden-in-plain-sight gems.

Netflix’s ominous warning, which stated certain seasons of the show would be available until July 1, starting appearing last week. I first saw it last Sunday, June 4, during a recent rewatch of the show, but I’m not the only user who has reported seeing it. Many on Twitter and Reddit have claimed to have seen the same thing. However, since many of these claims have been made without evidence of the warning and without an official statement from Netflix, they should be taken with a grain of salt. A screenshot of a Futurama taken from the Netflix desktop version is below:

Decider reached out to Netflix about whether or not Futurama will be expiring from Netflix soon. A PR spokesperson for the company declined comment. However, when Decider reached out to a customer service representative for Netflix, that representative said it currently looks like Seasons 1 – 6 of the series are slated to leave Netflix on July 1.

Of course, these are two different departments of Netflix. It’s possible that Customer Service is working with the same notifications that are publicly available to subscribers while Netflix’s PR department is (hopefully) trying to extend the show’s contract on the streaming service. However, that’s all speculation. What is interesting about this possible expiration has to do with the seasons it specifically affects.

As mentioned before, Futurama was a Fox show before it was picked up by Comedy Central. If Seasons 1 – 6 did expire from Netflix, that would remove all of the Fox episodes from the streaming service while leaving Comedy Central’s revival intact. As Decider has covered before, Netflix recently pulled several big name 20th Century Fox titles from Netflix. If Futurama left that would indicate another casualty in Netflix’s Fox cleanse. Many of the Fox titles that expired from Netflix in March ended up on Hulu, so hopefully the same fate will be in store for Futurama if it does leave.

Fans of the series have been panicking over the expiration allegations and threatening to cancel their accounts. There have even been online protests. A Change.org petition titled “If you cancel Futurama, we’ll cancel you, Netflix!” has seen some attention, gaining over 2,700 supporters. The unofficial announcement has also caused some emotional social media responses form fans of the series:

This isn’t the first time Netflix’s expiration warning has been wrong. In March there were claims that Star Wars: The Clone Wars was leaving as well as allegations that Arrested Development was leaving. Both shows remained on the streaming service past their expiration date warnings. Since Netflix’s PR department declined comment, there’s certainly a chance the animated comedy may be staying on Netflix. However, a Futurama binge is never a bad idea. Might I suggest “Jurassic Bark,” “The Why of Fry,” and “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”?

Stream Futurama on Netflix