What Futurama Fans Think The Hulu Reboot Really Needs In Order To Succeed

In February of 2022, "Futurama" fans rejoiced at the news that the animated comedy was being revived for the second time courtesy of Hulu. The series follows the adventures of a dimwitted pizza delivery boy named Phillip J. Fry (Billy West) who, on the eve of the year 2000, is accidentally cryogenically frozen for 1,000 years. He eventually wakes up in the year 3000 where he begins a new life working for an interplanetary delivery company with his alcoholic robot best friend, Bender (John DiMaggio), as well as his crew captain and crush Turanga Leela (Katey Segal). 

Overall, the sci-fi animated series has had a particularly tumultuous time on the air. After premiering on Fox in 1999, it ran for four seasons before being canceled. It was later picked up by Adult Swim for four direct-to-video movies, which were reworked into a new season. That revival had an additional two seasons before coming to an end in 2013. 

Though most fans are no doubt delighted at the prospect of the series returning once again, that doesn't mean there aren't reservations about the series' second reboot. Here are some of the things "Futurama" fans want to see — or don't want to see — in the upcoming season.

Apprehensive about the show's future, Redditor u/JoeFoeMojo went to his fellow fans and asked about what they believed the show could do to improve upon the previous seasons and become a success. 

One comment by u/escalbar had a simple request: "Continuity. In every form. From the animation style to voices to variety of episodes ..." They elaborated that as long as the series "feels like no/little time has passed, I'll be satisfied and happy." After all, when you check in with old friends, it should feel like picking right back up where you left off, shouldn't it? 

However, the most upvoted response in the thread came from u/ChloeCat90, who suggested that the show simply remove its attempts at topical humor and stick to more traditional sci-fi storylines — u/Mysterious_Glass_692 even replied with an example of the series once mentioning Susan Boyle appearing on "Britain's Got Talent" as a particularly stale reference. Another specific request made by u/ChloeCat90  involved ditching a classic sitcom trope: "[E]ven if they aren't married, at least keep Fry and Leela in a consistent relationship and don't resort to the will they/won't they crap again."

Based on creator Matt Groening's own views of the series, u/ChloeCat90 could be on the right page. In an interview with TV Squad conducted before the first "Futurama" revival, Groening said of the series, "We know that it looks like a silly cartoon show ... But that we were actually going to have, underlying the goofy comedy, was going to be legitimate literary science fiction concepts." Hopefully, for u/ChloeCat90's sake, the new "Futurama" reboot sticks to that sci-fi goodness.