While this review avoids spoilers, all ten Futurama Season 13 episodes were screened.
It’s time to head back to New New York City once again: all ten episodes of Futurama Season 13 will be available for streaming on Hulu at 8:00 PM ET today.
This season largely maintains the quality of the previous two “Hulurama” outings. Plus, it includes several archetypical Futurama episode types. While it may not win over any new converts, die-hard Planet Express devotees (like yours truly) will be satisfied — at least until next fall.
Futurama Season 13
While Futurama Season 12 felt like an attempt to bring in more of the show’s voluminous supporting cast, Season 13 feels more focused on the Planet Express crew. Hubert Farnsworth (Billy West) in particular gets several starring roles. Another episode offers the next chapter in the romance between Philip J. Fry (West) and Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal).
Speaking of which, I continue to appreciate that the show made the decision to make Fry and Leela a more consistent couple. Like the relationship between Amy Wong-Kroker (Lauren Tom) and Kif Wong-Kroker (Maurice LaMarche), this has opened up new narrative possibilities that weren’t available in earlier, “will they/won’t they” seasons. And frankly, that kind of uncertainty can only offer so much tension before you hardly care anymore.
And of course, Bender Bending Rodriguez (John DiMaggio) gets a few starring roles, as well. Another genre of episode that is well represented this season is the sequel. Without getting too specific, there are several episodes that are clearly sequels to earlier episodes. Obviously your mileage may vary with these, but I thought they were well done. And there are a few episodes that lean into their scifi premises, to great effect.
Another episode genre that appears in this season is the “current events” satire. Naturally, this can only be so “current” — it takes a while for Futurama’s traditional animation style to be completed — but while some seem to be irritated by this delay, I think tackling relatively recent history is one of the best things the show tends to do. Once again, this particular episode is written by Cody Ziglar, who also wrote Season 11’s “Rage Against the Vaccine.” If that episode upset you, well, this one probably will as well.
Hulurama
One thing this season does very well is maintain a high level of quality for Futurama’s animation. In my opinion, this level of quality sagged a bit during the Comedy Central era. But throughout all three seasons of “Hulurama” so far, the animation has been stellar.
Meanwhile, the cast remains reliably excellent. In addition to those mentioned above, there are also great performances from David Herman, Phil LaMarr, Dawnn Lewis and Tress MacNeille. Plus there are new and returning guest stars.
Probably my biggest issue with Futurama Season 13 is the decision to release all ten episodes at once. Futurama Season 11’s premiere, “The Impossible Stream,” already addressed the idea of simultaneous season drops, even though Seasons 11 and 12 were released on a weekly basis. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I prefer the weekly release schedule to having all ten episodes drop at once. Futurama is filled with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it background gags and dialogue jokes you won’t hear if you’re laughing too hard. I think it does fans of the show a disservice to make them choose between possibly having things spoiled and binging all ten episodes at once. And it does the density and quality of the show a disservice to not give each episode a week in which to breathe.
Finally, as is customary for my Hulurama reviews, I once again must lament the unavailability of the show on disc. I assume that Hulu possesses some kind of exclusivity contract for the episodes. In order to encourage fans to subscribe, the episodes are only available for streaming on the app. Hopefully, this exclusivity will eventually expire, and all of Hulu’s Futurama seasons will be available on disc… Preferably with audio commentaries for each episode, as is tradition.
Streaming Tonight
Futurama has been renewed at Hulu for at least one more season. Plus, if the throwaway gag in “The Impossible Stream” has any truth to it, there may be the possibility of some movies down the line. Either way, the show clearly has more dark matter in the tank. I’m looking forward to the next season, and I’m hopeful that we’ll get even more beyond that. Plus, of course, I’m chomping at the bit to be able to lay my hands on those Hulurama home video releases.
Speaking in its own established language, I think Futurama Season 13 might seem a bit impenetrable for newcomers. But who cares? You had two and a half decades to get onboard. For those who long ago drank the Futurama Kool-Aid, this is going to be a good week for TV.
All ten episodes of Futurama Season 13 will be available to stream on Hulu today, September 15th, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET.
Cover photo credit: Disney/Matt Groening
I tripped over myself running to Hulu to stream Futurama after I read your review. I didn’t realize they were releasing another season!
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