Last year, “Futurama” fans got the thrilling news that the Planet Express crew will return to their zany adventures ten years after the show’s finale. Since then, fans have slowly heard who will be in the series and how many episodes the new season will contain. However, one crucial piece was missing. When will the show be released?
Well, the news is finally here! Fans can expect to see Fry (Billy West), Leela (Katey Sagal), Bender (John DiMaggio) and their friends sooner than they might have thought. Hulu confirmed the revival’s release window is this very summer.
The series follows a pizza deliverer, Fry, who wakes up 1,000 years into the future after accidentally freezing himself. Fry finds work in a small cargo delivery service and operates alongside a one-eyed sewer mutant Leela and a robot Bender.
With this exciting news of “Futurama” coming back, here is all the information about “Futurama” season 8 to prepare you for the revival:
The Cast
Fans will be happy to hear that the entire Planet Express crew will reprise their roles for the new season. The main cast includes Billy West, Katey Sagal, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and John DiMaggio.
Back in Feb. 2022, DiMaggio, the voice of Bender, was originally not going to return to the show because he felt that the cast needed to be paid more. However, in March 2022, DiMaggio announced that he was officially returning to the series on social media.
DiMaggio wrote in a statement, “I’m BACK, Baby! So damn grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike during this whole time (especially my wife, Kate), and I cannot wait to get back to work with my ‘Futurama’ family ….”
In addition to the crew, Tress MacNeille (Leela’s Mom, Linda, Nerdbot) and Maurice LaMarche (Calculon, Kif, Morbo) will be in the new season. According to Entertainment Weekly, Hulu confirmed that Coolio would also appear in the show’s revival as his character KwanzaaBot as he’d recorded his dialogue and music for his character before his passing.
Season Eight Plot & Episodes
Hulu has yet to confirm what the new season will entail. However, looking back at the show’s season finale, the revival will likely follow the previous season’s storyline.
The season finale, “Meantime,” focused on Fry and Leela growing old together after Fry accidentally froze time. However, Professor Farnsworth (Billy West) came to their rescue by building a device capable of altering the universe that could send them back in time without remembering what had happened. Fry and Leela both agree to live their lives once again and go back to their thrilling adventures.
From this ending, there seem to be endless possibilities for the direction of “Futurama” season 8. The series could either start from scratch to get a chance to fix some mistakes the show made or begin from a certain point in the series and go from there. For now, it’s unclear how the revival will be approached.
Although the new season’s plotline is a bit of a mystery, Hulu announced that there will be 20 episodes in the revival. Hulu also released the names of the first 10 episodes of the series, which gave some insight into the new season. In order, these titles are: “The Impossible Stream,” “Rare Against The Vaccine,” “Zapp Gets Canceled,” “The Prince And The Product,” “Related To Items You’ve Viewed,” “Kip Gets Knocked Up A Notch,” “How The West Was 1010001,” “I Know What You Did Last Xmas,” “Parasites Regained” and “All The Way Down.” The remaining episode titles have yet to be revealed.
Creators of “Futurama” Season 8
Fans will be happy to hear that the series’ original creators, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, will be working alongside 20th Television as the writers and executive producers of the show.
“I’m thrilled to have another chance to think about the future…or really anything other than the present,” Cohen told Variety. Groening added, “It’s a true honor to announce the triumphant return of ‘Futurama’ one more time before we get canceled abruptly again,” since both of “Futurama’s previous runs were cut short. In 2007 the series was canceled by Fox but later picked up by Comedy Central in 2009, which ran the show for four more years.
“What I love about animation is that it’s possible for a successful show to take a pause and then resume years later, even on a different platform, and pick up right where it left off, Marci Proietto, head of 20th Television Animation, told Variety. “The excitement from Hulu about returning Matt and David’s genius creation for all-new episodes has been off the charts.…”
Where to Watch
“Futurama” season 8 will be available to watch on Hulu. It has yet to be confirmed whether Hulu will drop all 20 episodes at once or if the show will be released on a weekly basis.
As viewers wait for the show’s revival, fans can rewatch the previous seasons on Hulu.