We’re Back, Baby! Everything to Remember Before ‘Futurama’ Returns (2024)

Good news, everyone! Futurama is finally zooming back onto the small screen after a 10-year absence.

In 2022, when Hulu announced its plans to revive the popular animated series, you may have found yourself saying, “Wow! I’m going to rewatch the entire series before it comes out.” Then, one of two things happened: you realized the show has 10 seasons, and you wouldn’t have enough time to start from the beginning; or you simply forgot.Either way, we’ve got you covered!

Created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, Futurama first premiered in 1999 on Fox until it was canceled after Season 4 in 2002. The Emmy Award-winning series then pivoted to movies, creating four, before the show was revived by Comedy Central. The network transformed the movies into 16 30-minute episodes which made up the fifth season.

Then, Comedy Central aired two new seasons, each consisting of 26 episodes, before canceling the show again in 2013. All of this brings us to now! Hulu has defrosted the series and will air 10 new episodes featuring the original creators and cast on Mondays from July 24, 2023 to September 25, 2023.

Require a quick refresher on Futurama and where the season left off? Here’s everything you need to remember about the series before watching Season 11.

What’s Futurama About?

Futurama follows the intergalactic adventures of Philip J. Fry (Billy West), a lazy and unambitious pizza delivery worker who cryogenically preserved himself for 1000 years and woke up in the year 2999. He quickly discovers all his friends and (most) of his relatives are dead, except for the elderly Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth (West), who runs a shipping company called Planet Express. Since Fry was a delivery boy, he now has the proper skills in the future to… Continue to be a delivery boy.

Fry works closely with the competent one-eyed mutant Leela (Katey Sagal) and raunchy robot Bender (John DiMaggio), the latter of which becomes a close friend. Other workers include Jamaican accountant Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr), the lobster-like alien Dr. John A. Zoidberg (West) and the rich, long-term intern Amy Wong (Lauren Tom).

There is also Professor Farnsworth, as mentioned, who is the founder of the company and checks all the boxes for the “mad scientist” trope. Often, his missions and random inventions cause trouble for the group, but he also tends to be a key figure in resolving them.

What Happened in Futurama Season 10?

So, here’s the thing. Yes, 140 episodes of Futurama have aired since its release in 1999 but the series is only lightly serialized, meaning that each episode typically introduces a new plot and new scenarios. Therefore, catching up isn’t all too hard. Frankly, if you remember the gist of the series, you’re mostly set — but there are a few big changes that occurred in the final season.

Firstly, Fry and Leela got married in “Meanwhile,” the Season 10 finale. They thought they had broken the time-space continuum in order to save Fry’s life after he was abusing one of Professor Farnsworth’s latest inventions, one that allows people to travel back in time 10 seconds. Fry and Leela decided to make the most of it and host a wedding, which was attended by the frozen bodies of their peers.

Then, they went on their dream honeymoon, undisturbed due to their current situation, and a montage played of them growing old together. In the final moments, a light glimmer shined through the town and Professor Farnsworth appeared through a portal. He quickly fixed his time device and unfroze time, which reverted the time-stream back to when the device was invented.

The trailer for the revival has already revealed that Fry and Leela, who had an on-and-off relationship throughout the entire series, are still together. Who else is still together? Oh, that’s right — Amy and alien lieutenantKif Kroker! The two wed in the earlier seasons and Amy serves as the adoptive mother of his children; however, in a Season 5 episode, Kiff fell pregnant with their offspring. By the end of the episode, he gave birth to a school of tadpoles and they scurried off, never to be heard of again. But now, Season 11 teases that it’ll finally reveal their whereabouts.

There’s also Bender’s nemesis, evil killer Robot Santa, who will make a highly anticipated appearance in the new episodes. Where did we last see him? Oh yeah… wishing death upon everybody during “The Futurama Holiday Spectacular” in the first of three parts. Prior to then, he temporarily made amends with Bender and the Planet Express as they teamed together to regain possession of Earth after it was taken over by nudist alien creatures.

Additional characters to recall include Leela’s alien pet Nibbler, narcissistic military officer Zapp Brannigan, television anchors Morbo and Linda van Schoonhoven, and A-list robot actor Calculon, all of whom are poised to make an appearance in the new episodes.

Futurama is currently streaming on Hulu.