Futurama: Every Time The Series Was Canceled (& Why)

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.

Futurama is a well-loved show with a passionate following, but that didn't prevent the show from being taken off the air multiple times during its run. Following the 31st century misadventures of 20th-century delivery boy Philip J. Fry, Futurama premiered in 1999 as 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 admired 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."

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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 unsupportive, 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.

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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.

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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

47 8.8/10 8/10

Futurama

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Animation Comedy Adventure Science Fiction Release Date March 28, 1999 Network FOX, Comedy Central, Hulu Showrunner Matt Groening Directors Peter Avanzino, Brian Sheesley, Crystal Chesney, Frank Marino, Edmund Fong, Stephen Sandoval, Bret Haaland, Rich Moore, Ron Hughart, Dwayne Carey-Hill, Raymie Muzquiz, Mark Ervin, Susie Dietter, Gregg Vanzo, Swinton O. Scott III, Ira Sherak, James Purdum, Corey Barnes, Lance Kramer, Ray Claffey, Chris Sauve, Jeffrey Lynch, Pat Shinagawa, Wes Archer Writers Eric Rogers, Dan Vebber, Maiya Williams, David A. Goodman, Ron Weiner, Aaron Ehasz, Kristin Gore, Brian Kelley, Evan Gore, Heather Lombard, Jason Gorbett, Michael Saikin

Cast

See All

• Billy West Fry / Professor Farnsworth / Zoidberg / Zapp Brannigan (voice)
• Katey Sagal Leela (voice)

Seasons 10 Streaming Service(s) Hulu, Prime Video Powered by

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