‘Futurama’ Coming Back Means The Hypnotoad Has Won

The future is here… again. Today, 20th Television Animation and Hulu announced that Futurama will be returning with 20 episodes of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s sci-fi comedy. But before we start telling Hulu to shut up and take our money, what if we — hear me out — didn’t do this? Just a thought.

Futurama has had a seemingly endless history with revivals. The series originally premiered on Fox in 1999 before it was canceled in 2003. After that, the comedy gained a cult following thanks to its reruns on Adult Swim, which led to it getting four straight-to-DVD movie spinoffs that were released between 2007 and 2009. That was followed by the Comedy Central revival in 2009, and the following Comedy Central cancellation in 2013. Long story short? Futurama has been canceled. A lot.

“I’m thrilled to have another chance to think about the future… or really anything other than the present,” said David X. Cohen in a press release about this latest revival.

“It’s a true honor to announce the triumphant return of Futurama one more time before we get canceled abruptly again,” Matt Groening said.

Production is set to take place this month with a targeted premiere date of 2023. In addition to Cohen and Groening, Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman are all set to return to the series. Notice anyone missing in that list? Yeah, John DiMaggio, the man behind everyone’s favorite lovable criminal robot Bender, is currently not set to return to this revival. I mean, seriously. What are we doing here, people?

The lack of DiMaggio is enough of a reason to side-eye this project. But during the age of endless television, this revival feels like a B+ in-series joke. We really need to ask ourselves: do we need more Futurama?

Honestly, think about it. The last time Futurama was given limitless runtime and looser ratings, we got four so-so movies. All Futurama is good Futurama, but no one can claim Bender’s Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender’s Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder were the series’ best work. Eventually, the sci-fi comedy straightened itself out with the Comedy Central revival and gave us such classics as “The Late Phillip J. Fry” and the truly brilliant “The Prisoner of Benda.” But the success of the Comedy Central revival has left us with a completely different problem in 2022.

Because of Futurama‘s doomed cancellation and revival cycle, Season 7’s “Meanwhile” was the fourth episode that was meant to serve as the series’ finale. And it was rare perfect ending. Set in a show where literally anything in the universe could happen, this surprisingly gentle episode focused solely on Fry (Billy West) and Leela’s (Katey Sagal) relationship. While planning his proposal to Leela, Fry abuses a remote that sends its user 10 seconds back in time. Between its dedication to hard sci-fi rules, over-the-top violence, excellent comedic timing, and surprising vulnerability, “Meanwhile” encapsulated everything that made this show wonderful while also giving viewers a satisfying and happy ending between Fry and Leela. That should have been impossible, but Futurama pulled it off in 2013. Now, Cohen and Groening will have to cook up something to top perfection.

That’s a tall order for anyone, even if they’re at the top of their game. And it’s all too easy to argue that Groening and Cohen aren’t. The Simpsons has been so-so for years. Even Disenchantment, a show I constantly root for that is getting better, and which shows sparks of sharp humor and interesting introspection, is inconsistent — at best. Those aren’t votes of confidence.

Futurama was always a special show. It was a piece of mainstream media that was specifically created for nerds, by nerds. During its funniest moments, it could make you cry laughing. During its most powerful ones, it would leave you crying for an entirely different reason. I’m prepared to be wrong about this revival. Hell, I want to be wrong. I would love nothing more than for Cohen and Groening to recapture that lightning in a bottle and delightfully confuse us all once more. But I’m doubtful. Maybe it’s finally time to let Futurama die, instead of endless reviving it like one of Dr. Farnsworth’s ungodly experiments.

Where to stream Futurama