Futurama: How To Watch The Series In Chronological Order

Are you ready to fly off into the Wild Green Yonder, "Futurama" fans? With Hulu bringing the series back for a third go-round on July 24, you might be wondering how you can back watch the show through its labyrinthian broadcast history. 

"Futurama" got its start on Fox, where its first four seasons ran consecutively. Viewers should proceed through those spates of episodes before watching the four direct-to-DVD movies in order, otherwise, they will likely miss vital character and plot developments that occur with the films. Here, we learn all of the show's basics and get to meet the show's colorful characters. It sets up Philip J. Fry's (Billy West) longing for Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal), life at the Planet Express office, and the futuristic, yet familiar universe in which the series operates. 

Many events which have future implications on the show's plot occur during these seasons, such as Amy Wong (Lauren Tom) and Kif Kroker (Maurice LaMarche) getting together, and Bender (John DiMaggio) and Fry becoming roommates. We meet Fry's dog Seymour in a heart-tugging episode. "Futurama" — which has a lot of fun jumping back and forth in the timestream and allowing characters to suffer the consequences  — presses the reset button with great frequency, which means consuming it in chronologically in airing order will keep you in step with the characters. Though there is one exception on the series when it comes to allowing viewers to consume the show in chronological order once the movies become a factor.

Next comes the four "Futurama" direct-to-DVD features, which make up Season 5. Of that small number, "Bender's Big Score!" sheds fresh light on previous events in the series, and also ends up twisting the timeline. It's quite possible, therefore, to watch it right after you finish "Jurassic Bark," as Fry goes back in time and ends up changing a vital plot twist in that episode. 

The rest of the films proceed in a chronological fashion from the conclusion of "Bender's Big Score!" and mainly take place after the show's final Fox episode, "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings." Kif and Amy become Fonfon Rus in "The Beast with a Billion Backs." The whole gang team up to play a deadly game of Dungeons & Dragons in "Bender's Game." And in "Into the Wild Green Yonder," Leela and Fry finally admit their feelings for one another.

Finally, there are the series' two Comedy Central seasons, which follow Leela and Fry as they finally get together and try to negotiate a relationship. Along the way, the perpetually lonely John Zoidberg (Billy West) also finds true love. Watching Season 6 and Season 7 from start to finish should tell you everything you need to know about "Futurama" before it comes back to the small screen.

WIth that settled, you have plenty of time to settle in with some Bachelor Chow and a cold bottle of Old Fortran and rewatch the whole series before delving into its newest episodes.