Another once-cancelled Fox animated series may be getting a second lease on life thanks to strong syndication numbers and DVD sales.
Voice-actor Billy West recently told the Anime Supercon that Fox is considering ordering a sixth season of the once-cancelled series, “Futurama.”
“They [the DVDs] sold so well that Fox started making noises about maybe doing a sixth season for television,” West told the crowd, adding that he would love to return to lend his voice to Fry, Zoidberg and the Professor.
“Futurama” ran for five years on Fox before being cancelled and sold into syndication. The series thrived as part of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and thanks to box sets of the DVDs. Last year, four movies were commisisoned as a fifth season for the show. The movies were released directly to DVD and later shown on cable outlet Comedy Central, who currently repeats the series.
Sales have been strong enough to cause Fox to take a second look at bringing more “Futurama” to television. And if they do pick up the series, hopefully it will be better treated this time then it was orginally with fans having to pursue new episodes like Indiana Jones on the quest for the lost ark.
And if Fox shouldn’t decide to pick up the show, perhaps we’ll get another set of direct-to-DVD movies. The fourth direct-to-DVD movie hits stores this Tuesday.
Ben Haddon says
i for one am praying for more futurama , its gotta be my favourite show 🙂 if it came back id buy it! 😀 and watch it on tv ofcourse 😀
Matt Thorntob says
A new season would be great! We’ve had to deal with bad Simpsons episodes for years, yet Fox don’t seem to realise that The Simpsons isn’t funny or good anymore.
Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that Futurama does return, again!
Slye says
I love futurama.. but, this is what keeps us Browncoats hoping.. if fox can bring back futurama.. they can do the same for firefly!!! Let’s see.. Would Joss do tv again if it was a previous project?
Charly says
Omg!! Another season would be amazing!!! Me and a group of Futurama Freaks were going to start a petition and send it to FOX. The last one we started, we sort of started it, got over 40,000 signatures!! :O
I hope Futurama comes back!!!! 😀
Lukas says
I’d give, we’ll, maybe not anything, but alot for a new season of Futurama! Let’s all hope they’ll bring it back, I even consider to buy some extra copies of the movies just to prove my point to FOX.
insecthero says
I’m pretty recent to Futurama. I remember the first season fondly, thinking that Space Pilot 3000 was the absolute best series pilot I’d ever seen (on many different levels,) and quickly becoming frustrated with Fox for the way they kept jerking it around. Then I got too involved with life to give any time to television (horrifying thought, I know!)
Anyway, all these years later I reaquainted myself with the series, thanks to the public library, and I’m hooked. While not flawless (some episodes were a bit of a miss,) I think the show is a masterpiece. In many respects, I think it is superior to The Simpons, and it’s a helluvalot better than South Park or Family Guy. The characters are wonderfully developed (I think poor Zoidberg needs more work, though,) and the storylines are great. Numerous episodes, or moments within them, stand out as works of art. I resent the ham-handed way most filmmakers try to manipulate viewers’ emotions, and get extremely irritated as a result, but after watching enough episodes and getting to know the characters, later episodes can make me laugh one moment, groan in disgust in the next, and get all teary-eyed a second later. (The last minutes of Leela’s Homeworld, for example.)
Anyway, it’s too bad those bozos at Fox will only sit up and take notice when the cash register dings, rather than appreciating such a wonderful show on its own merits, but I guess whatever winds up bringing Futurama back to life will have to do. Too bad some other network doesn’t take the opportunity before Fox does- the best result would be for some fan to win the mega-lotto or something and bankroll the show privately.
Here’s hoping!
lisa says
It broke my heart when Fox put an end to the most poetic, intelligent, humorous and original cartoon I’d ever seen! Dammit Fox, look at the garbage you air nightly…please let the small group of people who enjoy art, subtle humour and brilliant character casting (as opposed to: commercial entertainment that relies on abrasive humor, predictable sexual references and schizophrenic “plot” lines, irritating voice casting ,( this means you: marge, Chris, Lisa…etc, )shock value and an increasingly annoying, shotty randomness, that was funny for like, two…maybe six episodes) There is a brilliance to futurama, it boldly goes in a direction that so few adult cartoons are willing to go, it’s sometimes heart wrenching (as in the episode where Fry’s dog waits 10 years for him to return..), It’s endearing ( the strangely deep friendship between Fry and Bender, a robot that has no regard for human life..and Zoidberg, the completely misunderstood crustacean, who is as sweet as he is insane…)The dynamics between Fry and Leela are equatable to any of the greatest unreciprocated love stories In history….there is literally nothing that Fry would not do for Leela…Futurama is a family, they are all misfits in their own right, but they would do anything for each other…This is one of the best shows i’ve ever seen!!! I don’t watch a lot of t.v. and there are few shows that I feel any sense of loyalty to, but I love this show, I watch some episodes over and over…I really don’t understand how it could be anything less than an epic success! But, Sadly it is appalingly under appreciated….Please, Let us have futurama for as long as we’ve had The Simpsons….PLEASE 🙁 !!!!