Comedy Central Cancels "Futurama" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 04-22-2013, 01:39 PM

"Futurama" To End Seven Season Run on Sept. 4 -- EXCLUSIVE
by Dan Snierson
Apr 22 2013

The Planet Express ship will soon make its final delivery.

Comedy Central has decided not to renew "Futurama", which means that the 31st-century-set animated comedy will end its 140-episode run on Sept. 4. The final 13 episodes, which represent the second half of season 7, begin airing on June 19 at 10 p.m.

"Futurama" is no stranger to cancellation, of course. The series aired from 1999 to 2003 before Fox sent Fry & Co. into oblivion.

After thriving in reruns on Adult Swim, "Futurama" was relaunched in 2007 with four-direct-to-DVD movies that Comedy Central ran in half-hour increments as a 16-episode fifth season in 2008-09.

Comedy Central subsequently ordered a sixth season of 26 episodes, which aired in 2010-11, and a seventh season of 26 episodes, the first half of which debuted in 2012.

The news did not come as a shock to executive producer David X. Cohen and creator Matt Groening, who had thought their space explorations were ending three previous times (after the Fox run, after the four movies, and after Comedy Central’s first 26-episode order).

“I felt like we were already in the bonus round on these last couple of seasons, so I can’t say I was devastated by the news,” Cohen tells EW.

“It was what I had expected two years earlier. At this point I keep a suitcase by my office door so I can be cancelled at a moment’s notice.”

Comedy Central’s EVP of Programming Dave Bernath views the network’s decision as “the natural end” to the show’s improbable comeback.

“That’s a helluva run that few shows achieve, and especially given the fact that it came back to life, it’s really an amazing story,” he says. “I’m more thankful and feel a sense of gratitude toward the whole process — and that we found a way to keep going for 52 more episodes — than I really am even thinking about the ending. It’s a blessing that it came back and lasted so long.”

The producers say that they are exploring options for a new home for the show, but there are no serious talks at this point.

“We’ve been in this situation before and it’s tempting when you’re doing episodes that are as good or better than anything you’ve ever done to continue doing it,” Groening tells EW.

“We’re catching our breath and seeing what the fans have to say. The experience of this show has been so much fun from the very beginning to now — everybody is so happy to work on this show — that it’d be a shame if we all went our separate ways… We would love to continue. We have many more stories to tell. But if we don’t, this is a really great way to go out… I think these episodes are the best ones we’ve ever done.”

Cohen calls the final run — which features such guests as Larry Bird, Sarah Silverman, George Takei, Adam West, Dan Castellaneta, and Burt Ward — “our best ‘last season ever’ ever,” noting that there are “a bunch of episodes that I think are going to be classics.”

In one installment, "Futurama" is “reincarnated as various cartoons of your youth, not legally resembling but somehow quite reminiscent of Scooby-Doo, Strawberry Shortcake, and G.I. Joe,” he says.

And the series finale, which features a wedding between Fry and Leela, is “a tasteful, emotional gorefest,” he raves. “There’s a lot of death but there’s also a lot of time travel, so that makes for an interesting combination.”

Adds Groening: “It’s a really satisfying ending. It’s an epic ending. If indeed it’s the ending.”

If, indeed. Somehow we’ll see Bender shout “Bite My Shiny, Revived Metal Ass!” down the road, right?

“Perhaps Futurama will return in another form, on the Internet, or as a puppet show in the park,” says Groening. “Or maybe as a puppet show in the park on the Internet.”

Deadpans Cohen: “As I said three times before, this is definitely the absolute end of the show. I don’t know why nobody believes me when I say that.”

"Futurama" won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program twice, in 2002 and 2011.

It has declined in the ratings, though, averaging 2.6 million viewers in 2010, 2.3 million in 2011, and 1.7 million in 2012.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/04/22/fu...omedy-central/

MrCleveland · 04-22-2013, 04:41 PM

I did like "Futurama", but I'm glad that they're getting a proper Finale.

robyrob · 04-22-2013, 06:07 PM

i think its a great show, but it did have a good run - I think it would've gotten better ratings on CC if they had aired it more regularly in a normal time slot and continued to show repeats in the off-season (i have no idea when the last time they aired a current episode was, but i haven't seen one in several months)

king of comedy · 04-22-2013, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robyrob

i think its a great show, but it did have a good run - I think it would've gotten better ratings on CC if they had aired it more regularly in a normal time slot and continued to show repeats in the off-season (i have no idea when the last time they aired a current episode was, but i haven't seen one in several months)

At least let it go out with a bang. Not only Fry and Leela getting married but also good endings for the rest of the characters.

Blackout · 04-22-2013, 09:11 PM

should have been aired after Southpark to increase viewiers

KurtPikachu2001 · 04-24-2013, 06:33 PM

Heard this news myself. As much as I loved these past new season since 2010, I'm kind of relieved that it's ending. Because all people have ever done since it's been back was complain. Now that it's ending, the Debbie Downers are now all wanting it to come back just so they can complain about it again.

And now look what's happened. All we have left is mindless reality shows where people humiliate themselves for 15 minutes of fame, singing shows, zombie, vampire, serial killer, gladiator, teen/20 something sitcoms and endless seasons of The Simpsons. Guess the bad guys won. I hold those shows responsible for Futurama's cancellation. Even if it is the end for good, I already found something else to like. Brickleberry that is.

In fact, Brickleberry should be Comedy Central's new top cartoon.

Retro4Life · 04-24-2013, 07:43 PM

I am sorry to see it go, as it was still a LOT better than most of the other junk masquerading as comedy out there today. Personally, I thought it took a couple of ticks down the quality ladder with this latest incarnation (how many episodes were there involving mind and/or body switching? And some of the retconning of the crew's history was very ill considered).

But again, an overall very good show. I honestly doubt this is the end of it, given the comments by the creators.

TMC · 04-28-2013, 12:56 AM

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.co...ost-its-spark/

Quote:

As sad as it may seem that Comedy Central is canceling Futurama with the upcoming eighth season, it’s past time for the once-hilarious animated series to say goodbye.

gilligan fanatic · 04-28-2013, 09:14 AM

Still a pretty good show, but I'm happy to see a real finale too

KurtPikachu2001 · 04-29-2013, 09:21 AM

Futurama has not lost it's spark. All people have ever done since it came back was bash it. That probably hurt the feelings of people who actually liked the new season. Now it's been cancelled and it will probably get replaced with some cartoon that's based on a Happy Madison/Judd Apatow movie.

The ironic thing about this is, back in 2010 when people were complaining, they all wanted to see it cancelled. Now it looks like they got their wish. And years and years later they will look back on it with regret that they ever bashed the new seasons, and then they will wish it was back on again.

It's like 2003 all over again. Only this time Joe Millionaire, Finding Nemo, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, Hilary Duff and American Idol aren't all the rage.

I heard on an EW or Huffington Post article that it probably will come back, but not right away. What did people have against the new seasons, anyway?

It was just as good as the old seasons. What do people want?

TMC · 08-29-2013, 02:42 AM

Futurama: 10 Ways Fox Should End The Show

king of comedy · 08-29-2013, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Futurama: 10 Ways Fox Should End The Show

It should end with the first one. That will be the best way to go.

TMC · 09-08-2013, 05:58 AM

http://whatculture.com/tv/futurama-6...-cancelled.php

Quote:

For the cryogenically frozen, Futurama was, during its initial run between 1999 and 2003, an animated sci-fi workplace comedy, set in the 31st century, concerning the story of a 20th Century pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who was accidentally frozen and wakes up 1000 years later. During the course of the pilot episode he meets; his best friend, Bender Bending Rodriguez, “an alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler” of a bending robot; the female Cyclops of his dreams, Turanga Leela; and their sesquicentenarian employer, inventor and Fry’s distant nephew, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. They along with their other co-workers adventure out across the universe delivering packages and generally getting into hijinks involving: murderous robots, murderous aliens, and romantic entanglements with each and every other character they can find, sometimes all in one episode.

After 4 seasons of wonderfully written, sci-fi animated entertainment filled with references to obscure computer codes, mathematical anecdotes and every Geek-dom, nerd-dom and fan-dom under the three suns of Trisol, Futurama was cancelled, much to the displeasure of geeks, nerds and Squeaky-voiced Teens everywhere.

But, thanks to this die-hard fan-base, who bought the DVDs, Futurama was brought back to make 4 straight-to-DVD movies, shown on TV as Season 5, which for 20th Century Fox TV Chairman Gary Newman, who told Variety, were a case of ”putting our toe in the water to see what sort of response we could get,”. They got a response calling for more Futurama. What a giant garbage ball of a mistake that was, and here are 6 reasons, both promoting the Original seasons and films, and criticising the later seasons, to explain why Futurama should have stayed cancelled…

James28 · 11-26-2014, 01:58 AM

If Futurama had been cancelled by Comedy Central, I would think that either the series got too expensive to produce, the main cast members were getting too old, or something else.

KurtPikachu2001 · 11-29-2014, 09:26 AM

Futurama was ALWAYS hilarious!

The last season did have some cool episodes, but it would've been better if Leela and the Genestalk never aired. I mean, come on, making Leela be a kidnap victim went against everything we liked about that character being a heroine who saves everyone. Then make an episode where she's weak, helpless, and needs help from Fry? It was terrible how Leela got captured by the giant, and then tied up and electricuted.

Meanwhile was dumb, it was just seeing what happened to Fry and Leela, and not the other characters. Left too many unanswered questions. Which is why Futurama should have continued. Also, those websites posted on this thread were bashing the show. Why do some people have to be haters? And a proper series finale should've been one where we see what happens and becomes of all the Planet Express crew. Then end it with Fry and Leela telling a story to their kids about a great adventure they had. Then the kids are left with a babysitter who turns out to be an alien, then the alien turns out to be Bender in disguise. So Bender can always have the last laugh.

THAT is how Futurama should've ended!

Don't forget to comment on my ideas for episodes!

04-22-2013, 01:39 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,117	Comedy Central Cancels "Futurama" *"Futurama" To End Seven Season Run on Sept. 4 -- EXCLUSIVE* by Dan Snierson Apr 22 2013 The Planet Express ship will soon make its final delivery. Comedy Central has decided not to renew "Futurama", which means that the 31st-century-set animated comedy will end its 140-episode run on Sept. 4. The final 13 episodes, which represent the second half of season 7, begin airing on June 19 at 10 p.m. "Futurama" is no stranger to cancellation, of course. The series aired from 1999 to 2003 before Fox sent Fry & Co. into oblivion. After thriving in reruns on Adult Swim, "Futurama" was relaunched in 2007 with four-direct-to-DVD movies that Comedy Central ran in half-hour increments as a 16-episode fifth season in 2008-09. Comedy Central subsequently ordered a sixth season of 26 episodes, which aired in 2010-11, and a seventh season of 26 episodes, the first half of which debuted in 2012. The news did not come as a shock to executive producer David X. Cohen and creator Matt Groening, who had thought their space explorations were ending three previous times (after the Fox run, after the four movies, and after Comedy Central’s first 26-episode order). “I felt like we were already in the bonus round on these last couple of seasons, so I can’t say I was devastated by the news,” Cohen tells EW. “It was what I had expected two years earlier. At this point I keep a suitcase by my office door so I can be cancelled at a moment’s notice.” Comedy Central’s EVP of Programming Dave Bernath views the network’s decision as “the natural end” to the show’s improbable comeback. “That’s a helluva run that few shows achieve, and especially given the fact that it came back to life, it’s really an amazing story,” he says. “I’m more thankful and feel a sense of gratitude toward the whole process — and that we found a way to keep going for 52 more episodes — than I really am even thinking about the ending. It’s a blessing that it came back and lasted so long.” The producers say that they are exploring options for a new home for the show, but there are no serious talks at this point. “We’ve been in this situation before and it’s tempting when you’re doing episodes that are as good or better than anything you’ve ever done to continue doing it,” Groening tells EW. “We’re catching our breath and seeing what the fans have to say. The experience of this show has been so much fun from the very beginning to now — everybody is so happy to work on this show — that it’d be a shame if we all went our separate ways… We would love to continue. We have many more stories to tell. But if we don’t, this is a really great way to go out… I think these episodes are the best ones we’ve ever done.” Cohen calls the final run — which features such guests as Larry Bird, Sarah Silverman, George Takei, Adam West, Dan Castellaneta, and Burt Ward — “our best ‘last season ever’ ever,” noting that there are “a bunch of episodes that I think are going to be classics.” In one installment, "Futurama" is “reincarnated as various cartoons of your youth, not legally resembling but somehow quite reminiscent of Scooby-Doo, Strawberry Shortcake, and G.I. Joe,” he says. And the series finale, which features a wedding between Fry and Leela, is “a tasteful, emotional gorefest,” he raves. “There’s a lot of death but there’s also a lot of time travel, so that makes for an interesting combination.” Adds Groening: “It’s a really satisfying ending. It’s an epic ending. If indeed it’s the ending.” If, indeed. Somehow we’ll see Bender shout “Bite My Shiny, Revived Metal Ass!” down the road, right? “Perhaps Futurama will return in another form, on the Internet, or as a puppet show in the park,” says Groening. “Or maybe as a puppet show in the park on the Internet.” Deadpans Cohen: “As I said three times before, this is definitely the absolute end of the show. I don’t know why nobody believes me when I say that.” "Futurama" won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program twice, in 2002 and 2011. It has declined in the ratings, though, averaging 2.6 million viewers in 2010, 2.3 million in 2011, and 1.7 million in 2012. http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/04/22/fu...omedy-central/

04-22-2013, 04:41 PM	#2
MrCleveland Drew Carey from Hell Forum Star Join Date: Nov 10, 2007 Location: The City of Cleveland, in The State of Cleveland, in The United States of Cleveland Posts: 14,223	I did like "Futurama", but I'm glad that they're getting a proper Finale.
	__________________ Thank God for kids that love Obscure Things. Lee Hazlewood (1929-2007) You ARE Special to God! Rev. Ernest Angely (August 1921-May 2021)

04-22-2013, 06:07 PM	#3
robyrob certified wackball#3 Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Aug 03, 2003 Location: hiding under the third booth at Arnold's Posts: 58,189	i think its a great show, but it did have a good run - I think it would've gotten better ratings on CC if they had aired it more regularly in a normal time slot and continued to show repeats in the off-season (i have no idea when the last time they aired a current episode was, but i haven't seen one in several months)
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04-22-2013, 09:11 PM	#5
Blackout Sart Bimpson Senior Member Join Date: Jan 13, 2003 Location: where the sun rises Posts: 2,235	should have been aired after Southpark to increase viewiers
	__________________ MOHRIOR

04-24-2013, 07:43 PM	#7
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	I am sorry to see it go, as it was still a LOT better than most of the other junk masquerading as comedy out there today. Personally, I thought it took a couple of ticks down the quality ladder with this latest incarnation (how many episodes were there involving mind and/or body switching? And some of the retconning of the crew's history was very ill considered). But again, an overall very good show. I honestly doubt this is the end of it, given the comments by the creators.
	__________________ Alex Reiger :[Trying to convince Louie not to antagonize Bobby] "It's not hard to make people feel bad about their lives. What's hard is making people feel good about their lives."

04-24-2013, 06:33 PM	#6
KurtPikachu2001 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 30, 2012 Location: South Carolina Posts: 140	Heard this news myself. As much as I loved these past new season since 2010, I'm kind of relieved that it's ending. Because all people have ever done since it's been back was complain. Now that it's ending, the Debbie Downers are now all wanting it to come back just so they can complain about it again. And now look what's happened. All we have left is mindless reality shows where people humiliate themselves for 15 minutes of fame, singing shows, zombie, vampire, serial killer, gladiator, teen/20 something sitcoms and endless seasons of The Simpsons. Guess the bad guys won. I hold those shows responsible for Futurama's cancellation. Even if it is the end for good, I already found something else to like. Brickleberry that is. In fact, Brickleberry should be Comedy Central's new top cartoon.

04-28-2013, 09:14 AM	#9
gilligan fanatic Born to Be Bad Forum Fanatic Join Date: May 06, 2001 Location: down by the Lagoon Posts: 9,954	Still a pretty good show, but I'm happy to see a real finale too
	__________________ Matt Filmaf ~ Twitter ~ Last.FM

04-29-2013, 09:21 AM	#10
KurtPikachu2001 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 30, 2012 Location: South Carolina Posts: 140	Futurama has not lost it's spark. All people have ever done since it came back was bash it. That probably hurt the feelings of people who actually liked the new season. Now it's been cancelled and it will probably get replaced with some cartoon that's based on a Happy Madison/Judd Apatow movie. The ironic thing about this is, back in 2010 when people were complaining, they all wanted to see it cancelled. Now it looks like they got their wish. And years and years later they will look back on it with regret that they ever bashed the new seasons, and then they will wish it was back on again. It's like 2003 all over again. Only this time Joe Millionaire, Finding Nemo, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, Hilary Duff and American Idol aren't all the rage. I heard on an EW or Huffington Post article that it probably will come back, but not right away. What did people have against the new seasons, anyway? It was just as good as the old seasons. What do people want?

08-29-2013, 02:42 AM	#11
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,010	Futurama: 10 Ways Fox Should End The Show

11-26-2014, 01:58 AM	#14
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,978	If Futurama had been cancelled by Comedy Central, I would think that either the series got too expensive to produce, the main cast members were getting too old, or something else.
	__________________ "When the run of a network TV show has ended, some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, but all are...Future Endeavored." "Stay Safe"? More like "Stay Sad". #2020Hurts

11-29-2014, 09:26 AM	#15
KurtPikachu2001 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 30, 2012 Location: South Carolina Posts: 140	Futurama was ALWAYS hilarious! The last season did have some cool episodes, but it would've been better if Leela and the Genestalk never aired. I mean, come on, making Leela be a kidnap victim went against everything we liked about that character being a heroine who saves everyone. Then make an episode where she's weak, helpless, and needs help from Fry? It was terrible how Leela got captured by the giant, and then tied up and electricuted. Meanwhile was dumb, it was just seeing what happened to Fry and Leela, and not the other characters. Left too many unanswered questions. Which is why Futurama should have continued. Also, those websites posted on this thread were bashing the show. Why do some people have to be haters? And a proper series finale should've been one where we see what happens and becomes of all the Planet Express crew. Then end it with Fry and Leela telling a story to their kids about a great adventure they had. Then the kids are left with a babysitter who turns out to be an alien, then the alien turns out to be Bender in disguise. So Bender can always have the last laugh. THAT is how Futurama should've ended! Don't forget to comment on my ideas for episodes!