With Futurama's latest revival on Hulu, one of the series' lead creatives addressed what the future could hold for the beloved animated comedy.
Futurama is no stranger to hanging in the balance with its future in limbo. The show has been cancelled twice now, after starting out on Fox in 1999 and then getting picked back up and cancelled yet again by Comedy Central.
However, the fan-favorite animated satire is back in the spotlight, this time tackling hot-button topics like COVID-19, cryptocurrency, and NFTs with some key differences from when the show last aired in 2013.
The latest Hulu reboot of the show marks its 11th season, but after this new batch of episodes, the future again remains unclear for Futurama.
Addressing the Future of Futurama
Speaking in the latest issue of SFX Magazine, Futurama executive producer Claudia Katz pulled the curtain back on her hopes for more from the hit animated series in the future.
While reflecting on the series' jumps to different networks, Katz shared that the show's producing team is "really hopeful and optimistic that [they'll] get to do more" beyond Season 11 on Hulu:
“We had the privilege of doing 52 episodes for Comedy Central, which was fantastic. These days, you can’t assume that you’re going to be able to finish on your own terms. So that led to the writers being very conscientious about always doing a season finale, and not taking anything for granted. And that is still true to this day. We’re doing these 20 episodes and I think everybody is really hopeful and optimistic that we’ll get to do more. But in the same way, each season has a season and (hopefully not) series finale.”
Katz also praised being able to get back to the three-episode mini-arc storylines fans have come to know and love from the series. She noted, "We have one [three-parter] per season" and are a "fun way to spin our characters and take on different universes:"
“We have one per season, and they’re really a fun way to spin our characters and take on different universes. I think those are both really, really fun.”
Will Futurama Season 12 Happen?
Right now it remains a mystery if Futurama will get another season beyond this latest 20-episode order.
However, if the series is in a better place than it has been for quite some time.
If the much-celebrated comedy was only coming back for one last go-round, one would assume it would have been branded as such.
However, it has not been. Instead, Season 11 is being marked as the return of the series, not the farewell party.
Sure, Claudia Katz and the Futurama creative team have had to work as if they were not going to get to come back after this. But that is something they have had to do for several of their past seasons.
If a network were to keep Futurama going, Hulu feels like the one to do it. The streamer has made a big deal about the return of Matt Groening's futuristic satire. They have bought in and surely, this was not a simple one-and-done investment.
While nothing has been officially announced yet, it would not be all that surprising if Futurama is greenlit for another Season at Hulu before this latest revival is done.
Futurama can be streamed now on Hulu, with new episodes of Season 11 dropping every Monday.
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