What 'Futurama' Is About:
Philip J. Fry is a not-too-bright pizza delivery guy who ends up accidentally cryogenically frozen in the year 2000 and awakened New Year's Eve, 2999, in a very different futuristic world. He ends up delivering cargo at Planet Express, owned by his only living relative, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. There he meets and forms a crush on Leela, the beautiful, one-eyed captain of their delivery spaceship.
Status of 'Futurama':
Futurama is currently in production. It airs on Comedy Central. Premiered: Mar 3, 1999. For current showtimes see Show Listings.
• Good News, Everyone! Futurama Is Renewed
• 'Futurama' Inks Original Cast After All
• 'Futurama' May Be Recast
• 'Futurama' Returns!
• Good News, Everyone! Futurama Is Renewed
• 'Futurama' Inks Original Cast After All
• 'Futurama' May Be Recast
• 'Futurama' Returns!
Origins:
Futurama was created by animation legend Matt Groening, creator of the comic Life in Hell and the series The Simpsons, and David X. Cohen, a writer for The Simpsons and, before that, Beavis and Butthead.
Key 'Futurama' Characters:
The central focus is on Fry, Leela, the self-important robot Bender, and Farnsworth, but the wide-open format allows a broad spectrum of recurring and one-off characters, most of them satiric pop culture references, often relating to contemporary sci-fi (e.g., Zapp Brannigan, a William Shatner/Captain Kirk parody).
Flavor of 'Futurama':
The format allows for a faster pace than other adult animated comedies like The Simpsons or Family Guy, with lots of one-liners and quick, blackout appearances, but the central thread of Fry's relationships with Leela and Bender and the others is never lost.
