Season Review: Futurama Season 11

Overview:

They’re back, baby! Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s animated sci-fi comedy is ready for its fourth go around the universe and this time it’s Hulu-ier than ever. Fry, Bender, Leela, Professor Farnsworth, and the rest of the Planet Express crew are up to more heightened hijinks that prove how 3023 isn’t that different from the modern world’s trials and tribulations. Give or take a few aliens and robots.

Our Take:

Futurama is a rare case of a series that’s technically on its third revival. The series’ intermittent returns have been a mixed bag, but largely consistent in quality and Futurama’s ability to subvert the present through the radical filter of the future proves to be continually valuable. There are some excellent entries in Futurama’s Comedy Central seasons, even if they’re not for everyone, but these new Hulu episodes are off to a satisfying start. Futurama still succumbs to some of the pitfalls of what held it back during its past revival–particularly whenever it leans too hard into current events and trends–but it still authentically feels like itself. Unlike many other reboots, Futurama benefits from continuing to retain most of its core creative staff rather than newcomers who are trying to ape the show’s voice. There’s a lot more that works here than what doesn’t and these new Futurama episodes certainly justify their existence and feel unique in a world that also contains Solar Opposites, Rick and Morty, and Star Trek: Lower Decks. 

This season truly kicks off with such a perfect natural starting point that allows it to beautifully continue from the previous series finale even though it’s a decade later. It’s all handled in a way that’s far more natural than what’s been done in the previous reboots. It doesn’t need to get lost in exposition or smug self-awareness (although there’s still some winking at the audience). Futurama even finds a way to mock the many TV reboots that become pseudo homework assignments with how much previous content needs to be watched to be properly up to date. Futurama can be surprisingly plot heavy for an episodic animated comedy, but this new season is extremely accessible to any curious newcomers. 

There are definitely episodes this season where the stories are a little thin and the weakest element. However, the writing, characterization, and dialogue is still as strong and witty as ever. Sharp, relentlessly-paced episodes go to absurdist, unexpected places and deliver exceptional punchlines. These are just fun characters and a fun world. If nothing else, it’s extremely satisfying to get tied up in their chaos again. A world with more Bender in it is an undeniably better place. On that note, Futurama finds  ways to explore some fresh dynamics, like some stellar Bender and Zoidberg team-up adventures.

Futurama feels like it hasn’t missed a beat, but it also doesn’t coast off of low-hanging fruit and empty nostalgia. There are plenty of callbacks and episodes that almost function as sequels to acclaimed installments from the show’s original run, but there’s also a desire for growth and improvement. As wild as Futurama gets, it’s easy to forget that it’s a show with intense character development and its characters are not just allowed, but motivated, to change. Many animated comedies would just breeze past the point that these characters have lost a decade of their lives, but Futurama actually explores the emotional consequences of cancellation. It’s fitting that after a decade in hibernation that characters like Fry would feel discouraged for the time that’s been lost and face a newfound desire to set goals and improve. Leela and Amy also experience similar individual crises and personal growth. This new season is shockingly emotional for what’s also an exceedingly silly comedy about robots, aliens, and idiots. There are also some genuinely sad episodes, including one that focuses on Leela and Nibbler’s relationship that gets close to the emotional heights of “Jurassic Bark.” It’s appreciated that Futurama attempts more thought-provoking installments like this rather than simply trying to be funny or comment upon society and the state of the world. There are some episodes that end with smiles and a flippant joke, but actually reinforce rather bleak interpretations of the world. There’s an extra bite to this season’s perspective even if it’s still full of laughs.

In such a limitless show, it’s also nice to see these episodes repeatedly show restraint. There are no bloated episode runtimes just to fit in extra jokes. There’s a moment early on that feels like it might become Futurama’s equivalent to Rick and Morty’s “Interdimensional Cable,” which wouldn’t be the worst way to spend some time, but Futurama quickly abandons ship and instead uses its rapid-fire jokes to build upon the grander storytelling and not just become an excuse to be silly.

This new season explores a mix of broader subjects like parental woes and unconventional family dynamics, awkward roommate scenarios, gun violence, and pet care. That being said, many episodes focus on timelier topics such as streaming services, society’s addiction to the convenience of “Momazon” shopping and the Internet’s all-powerful algorithm, Bitcoin, and many Dune parodies. Some of these plots are clunkier than others with an Ivermectin riff maybe being the worst. Regardless of these stories’ mixed success rates, they continue to show off fun and diverse new corners of Futurama’s limitless universe. 

This new season successfully returns to some old Futurama traditions, like a winter holiday celebration. This season delivers a fun, ambitious holiday twist where adults try to prevent kids from learning that Santa is real rather than the reverse. Futurama finds something new to say on this seasonal topic rather than just bringing back Robot Santa purely because he’s previously been a popular character. It also pairs the idea together with a time-traveling take on I Know What You Did Last Summer, so it’s impossible for anyone to say that Futurama’s new X-Mas episode repeats itself.

There are also some unfortunately-timed jokes that denigrate television writers that fit with Futurama’s tongue-in-cheek style of humor that would have landed very differently years ago when it was written. It’s now tragically poignant to see a sequence where a writers’ room literally work themselves to death while someone else carelessly takes credit for their work. All that’s missing is a cutaway to Zaslov-Bot beeping in approval. Ironically, it’s the polar opposite of the network-dismissing Torgo’s Executive Powder introduction that kicked off Futurama’s Comedy Central revival.

At the end of the day, Futurama is still extremely funny and one of the sharpest animated series on television. Futurama is unabashedly silly and some of its broader ideas might induce groans, but I was consistently laughing out loud across this entire season. Hulu’s Futurama is a worthy revival that truly feels like a seamless continuation rather than any clunky reboot. It’s as hilarious as it’s always been, yet proves that it can still say and do something original in what’s an increasingly impressive and niche TV landscape. 

Season 11 of ‘Futurama’ premieres July 24th on Hulu