‘Futurama’ Cast, Producers Joke About Their Frequent Cancellations, Tease Upcoming Guests and Storylines

“Futurama” is heading back from the future. Exec producer David X. Cohen revealed that next year’s season finale will explore more of the backstory of Fry and his brother as kids. “We are going to work work that gold mine a little bit more next year, 2026,” he told the audience at the show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday.

Creator Matt Groening was joined by Cohen, as well as executive producers Claudia Katz and Ken Keeler, supervising director Peter Avanzino, and Futurama stars Billy West (Fry, the Professor, Zoidberg), Lauren Tom (Amy), Phil LaMarr (Hermes), David Herman (Scruffy) and Maurice LaMarche (Kif). The stars kicked the panel off with a table read of the upcoming Season 13’s sixth episode.

Later, the producers were mostly mum on upcoming guest stars, but Cohen revealed that San Antonio Spurs player Victor Wembanyama appears in this upcoming season opener.

Hulu recently announced that it was switching to an all-at once binge for “Futurama” as it returns in September for Season 13. As Variety first reported, all 10 episodes from the new season will premiere at the same time on September 15 at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.

“You are the collective superhero who has saved us so many times in the past,” Cohen said, referring to the show’s several cancellations and revivals over the years. “This an all-new system we’re going to test out this year, the 10 episode binge-a-thon on September 15. So we’re just giving you some instructions here, in case you’ve forgotten… You just sit down and you watch each episode eight times!”

That’s a switch from most recent two seasons of the revival, as Hulu released Season 11 in 2023 and Season 12 in 2024 on a weekly basis. “Futurama” Season 13 will also premiere on linear cabler FXX on Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. ET, with two episodes weekly.

During the Q&A portion of the “Futurama” panel, a surprise fan showed up to the microphone: “Mad TV” star Orlando Jones, who had a “time travel ethics question. If Fry keeps messing with the timeline, but if he could go back and stop himself from writing that awful jacket in college, would you pitch in to fund therapy for his future mistakes, or let him choke on fashion?” One panelist’s answer: “Is that a question or a sketch?”

Hulu noted that per Nielsen, “Futurama” was among the top 10 streaming originals of 2024. Hulu announced in November 2023 that “Futurama” had been renewed for two more seasons, taking it through Season 14 in 2026.

Here’s the show’s Season 13 logline: “Bender is rampaging out of control! A volcano is about to explode! Fry confronts a rival for Leela’s love! And Dr. Zoidberg is rising up to heaven?! The excitement might be too much! You’ve been warned… it’s an all new season of ‘Futurama’!”

“Futurama” comes from 20th Television Animation. It stars John DiMaggio (Bender), Billy West (Fry, the Professor, Zoidberg), Katey Sagal (Leela), Tress MacNeille (Mom), Maurice LaMarche (Kif), Lauren Tom (Amy), Phil LaMarr (Hermes) and David Herman (Scruffy). MacNeille and Herman were added to the main cast this season.

“Futurama” was created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen. Executive producers include Groening, Cohen, Ken Keeler and Claudia Katz. Animation is provided by Rough Draft Studios.