The Sci-Fi Comedy Series On Hulu Helped By Getting Canceled

Originally airing on Fox in 1999, Futurama was created by Matt Groening who is best known as the creator of The Simpsons.

It ran for four seasons at Fox before being canceled. Then it was resurrected by Comedy Central in 2008 for three more seasons. Its latest revival was at Hulu, bringing the show back in 2023 with more episodes coming later this month. 

Futurama follows a pizza delivery boy named Fry, who is accidentally cryogenically frozen in 1999 and wakes up in 2999. He ends up working for his only living relative’s delivery company, Planet Express, which sees him going on a variety of sci-fi adventures.

The show’s main cast consists of Planet Expresses employees including the senile Professor Farnsworth, one-eyed Captain Leela, morally dubious robot Bender, bureaucrat Hermes, the alien Dr. Zoidberg, and Amy an intern with a rich family from Mars. 

Defined by its sharp writing, strong continuity, and deep understanding of both real science and sci-fi tropes Futurama is widely considered one of the best animated series for adults. It has a cultural footprint similar to The Simpsons, with the show being quoted constantly, appearing in memes, and feeling like an omnipresent cultural presence.

But I still get excited when a new season comes out, which hasn’t been true for The Simpsons in over a decade. 

By giving fans a few seasons at a time, with multi-year breaks in between, fans never have the chance to get tired of Futurama. Whether it’s The Simpsons running for 35 seasons or Marvel releasing four movies in a single year, it’s clear that fans can only take so much of a given property. Spreading 151 episodes out over 25 years keeps that burnout from happening. 

Futurama’s multiple revivals also serve as big events to reignite fan excitement for the show and a way to get media attention bringing in new viewers.

Despite being created by one of animation’s biggest names, the show has gained a bit of an underdog reputation with each revival feeling like a little show winning against the corporate studios trying to cancel it. With every revival, I eagerly celebrate its return and see new fans discovering the show. 

From the creative side, the frequent production breaks have helped to keep Futurama from getting stale.

With plenty of time for ideas to gestate and a new slew of topical subjects to utilize, the revivals always feel in line with the original show but I never feel like it’s treading water.

While the early seasons are still widely considered the best, I haven’t seen vitriol towards the revival seasons within the fandom. 

With more episodes coming out this month, I’m excited for more Futurama and it’s the only show that started in the 90s I can say that for. I don’t think I’d have that excitement if they’d put out a season every year for the last 25 years.

While plenty of other TV revivals have fallen flat, Futurama has made the most of its cancellations and turned them into one of its biggest advantages.