'Futurama' Had a Harder Life Than You Thought – It Survived Despite Fox's Best Efforts to Kill It
The story of Futurama is a cautionary tale about how a brilliant project can nearly be destroyed by studio misunderstanding and sabotage.
Today, Futurama is considered a cult animated series, but its path to recognition was rocky. Despite being made by Matt Groening, the creator of the wildly popular The Simpsons, 20th Century Fox tried to kill the project.
This is the story of how one of the smartest and most original animated shows narrowly escaped misunderstanding and sabotage.
How Was 'Futurama' Born?
Following the resounding success of The Simpsons, Matt Groening was inspired to create an animated sci-fi series. He enlisted David X. Cohen, a Harvard physics graduate and screenwriter for Beavis and Butt-Head.
Cohen and other scientist writers became the chief architects of the smart, geeky humor that viewers loved.
Fox initially ordered thirteen episodes, but conflict between the creators and the studio erupted almost immediately.
The Boldness of 'Futurama' And Its Themes Frightened Fox Producers
Fox producers expected The Simpsons in Space – a simple, safe sitcom. Instead, Groening and Cohen offered a complex, multilayered universe with social satire, philosophical topics, and its own metaplot.
The studio was terrified by everything: the fact that the action often took place off-world, and the dark jokes, like the suicide booth.
The studio demanded changes to almost every element of the show, resulting in endless debate and controversy.
Producers Almost Killed 'Futurama' by Airing It at the Worst Time Possible
Even after defending their vision, the creators encountered the studio's main obstacle: the programming schedule. After airing two episodes in the prestigious Sunday time slot, following The Simpsons and The X-Files, the show was moved to Tuesday nights and then to 7:00 p.m. on Sundays.
This was a death sentence – the show was preceded by baseball games, which often ran long. This forced Futurama episodes to either be delayed or not aired at all.
The episodes were not shown in order or every week, which undermined the established metaplot. Consequently, the series lost about half of its audience and was officially canceled in 2003.
Bringing 'Futurama' Back Was Also a Huge Challenge
It seemed the story had ended there, but in 2007, an opportunity for resurrection arose. Comedy Central began negotiating with Fox.
The deal was bizarre: Fox released four full-length animations on DVD, which Comedy Central then divided into sixteen episodes. Despite production delays caused by a writers' strike and resulting quality issues, these episodes achieved unexpectedly high ratings.
This led to the commissioning of new seasons, which aired on Comedy Central from 2010 to 2013. However, the increased use of 3D graphics prevented the show from reaching its former heights once again, and it was canceled in 2013.
