Once-dead sci-fi animated comedy series Futurama is being resurrected on Comedy Central with 26 brand-new episodes on the slate.
Fry and gang have followed in the footsteps of Family Guy and escaped from the realms of the television dead to live again, thanks to Comedy Central. The show will begin airing again on the cable network next year, with 26 brand new episodes on the slate for production.
Like Family Guy, strong DVD sales and the popularity of reruns enticed Comedy Central to bring the Matt Groening-created show, which follows the misadventures of a modern day misfit who finds himself in quirky company in the distant future, back to the airwaves.
“When we brought back Family Guy several years ago, everyone said that it was a once in a lifetime thing – that canceled series stay canceled and cannot be revived,” Fox TV chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden said in a statement. “But Futurama was another series that fans simply demanded we bring back, and we couldn’t have been happier when Matt and David agreed that there were many more stories yet to tell.”
Family Guy has enjoyed more success in its life after death then it did before it was canceled, so maybe Fox and Comedy Central are banking on Futurama to find a bigger audience this time around? That might be a bit of a long shot since Futurama‘s comedic appeal not being nearly as broad as Family Guy‘s, but whatever – the show is back, and that’s plenty for people to be happy about.
“We’re thrilled Futurama is coming back,” said Matt Groening. “We now have only 25,766 episodes to make before we catch up with Bender and Fry in the year 3000.”
The more Dr. Zoidberg, the better.
[Via Entertainment Weekly]
