Hulu will be reviving Futurama for an eighth season that’s comprised of 20 brand-new episodes, and the Futurama reboot updates have already built up an incredible amount of anticipation for the return of the Planet Express and her crew. The Futurama reboot — officially season 8 — will be released a full decade after the critically acclaimed Futurama series finale on Comedy Central. This certainly isn’t the first time for the Emmy award-winning animated dramedy to be picked up by a different network, as Futurama originally aired on Fox and has since run on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, Comedy Central, and 20th Century Fox. The streaming service Hulu is the latest network to host the acclaimed animated comedic drama — 10 years after the Futurama finale.
Futurama season 7, episode 26 “Meanwhile” already set up how the Futurama reboot can begin. In Futurama‘s final episode, it was revealed that, before the show’s pilot episode, Professor Farnsworth created a time machine designed to warp reality back to that moment if it was ever activated. The Professor activates the machine, wiping everyone’s memories of subsequent events in the process, essentially restarting Futurama back to before the pilot, giving Futurama season 8 the option to basically start from scratch. For now, it’s unclear exactly how the reboot will be approached, though some Futurama reboot updates do provide some clues.
The Latest Futurama Season 8 News: Teaser Trailer And Release Date
Futurama season 8 finally has a release date, as announced in May 2023. The Futurama season 8 release date was broken via a short 20-second clip on May 18, which featured non-dialogue footage of the upcoming season. In what Hulu called “Hulurama,” though there’s no dialogue, the video is full of screams and weird alien noises, with the standout moment being Zapp Brannigan screaming in agony when his chest hair is pulled off. The teaser also confirms the return of Kif Kroker, Amy Wong, Hermes Conrad, and Scruffy.
Futurama Season 8 Release Date
Futurama season 8’s release date is July 24, 2023, and episodes will be released weekly. The impending release of a new season of Futurama is almost hard to believe, as it has been 10 years since the finale of season 7. Though Futurama’s finale had a perfect ending, the cast and crew still wanted the show to continue before Fox canceled it. Co-creator David X. Cohen even wanted to follow season 7 with a movie, noting, “The coolest thing would be if FOX said, ‘Hey, let’s make a feature film for theatrical release,’ which is something we haven’t done” (via IGN). Thankfully, Hulu came to the rescue in 2022 and greenlit a 20-episode season.
Futurama Season 8 Cast
The key question around the Futurama season 8 voice cast was whether John DiMaggio would return as Bender. Bender voice actor John DiMaggio will be returning after all. Even after Hulu’s Futurama reboot plans divided long-time viewers, audiences nonetheless supported DiMaggio’s own hashtag #BenderGate to unite against apparent plans to exclude him from the reboot. According to DiMaggio, he almost didn’t return to Futurama because he demanded higher wages for the entire cast.
Although the contract dispute has ended and DiMaggio is confirmed to return for Futurama season 8, the actor said that he didn’t get what he wanted, but he did earn the respect of his peers in the process — suggesting the fight may not be over, “I didn’t get more money. But what I did get was a lot of respect, and a lot of head nods from people who are like, ‘Yo bro, I see you and thank you” (via Slashfilm).
Along with DiMaggio, the entire Planet Express crew will be back to reprise their roles throughout Futurama season 8’s new episodes. Joining DiMaggio in the Futurama revival are Billy West (Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg), Katey Sagal (Leela), Tress MacNeille (Leela’s Mom, Linda, Nerdbot), Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad), Lauren Tom (Amy Wong), and Maurice LaMarche (Calculon, Kif, Morbo).
Futurama Season 8 Story Details
Apart from how the series finale ended, the only real hints about Futurama season 8’s story are the titles of the first 10 episodes. In order, these are: “The Impossible Stream,” “Rage Against The Vaccine,” “Zapp Gets Cancelled,” “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.” It seems viewers can expect more of Futurama‘s genre-bending episodes in the near future. As for the last 10 episodes in the Futurama reboot, their titles are yet to be revealed.
