Hulu’s sending the Planet Express gang on a new bunch of delivery jobs.
Hulu’s following in Comedy Central’s footsteps with a 20-episode revival of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s Futurama that’s due to hit the streaming platform sometime in 2023. According to The Hollywood Reporter, original cast members Billy West (Fry), Katey Sagal (Leela), Tress MacNeille (Mom, many others), Maurice LaMarche (Kif), Lauren Tom (Amy), Phil LaMarr (Hermes), and David Herman (Scruffy) are all set to reprise their original roles. John DiMaggio, who voiced Bender along with a wide assortment of other background characters, is reportedly still in talks as to whether he will return.
Speaking to Variety, Hulu’s president of originals, Craig Erwich, described the revival as both an effort to create new episodes for fans of the original series but also as part of Hulu’s larger project of defining itself as the platform people associate with adult animation.
“This iconic series helped blaze the trail for the success of adult animation since its initial launch, and we look forward to Matt & David continuing to pave the way and further establishing Hulu as the premiere destination for fans of the genre,” Erwich said.
The latest renewal comes after Comedy Central first brought the series back in 2009 for two seasons that brought Fry, Leela, and the rest of the crew’s stories to a striking end with a series finale that left open the possibility for more stories down the line.
Hulu’s focus on appealing to an adult audience may be a sign that when Futurama returns, it’ll be a familiar but different sort of beast. That could very be just what the Futurama franchise needs at this point.
