This review of Futurama season 11 avoids spoilers. However, the first six episodes of the season were watched for review.
Since Futurama’s first incarnation – a run of 72 broadcast episodes on the Fox Network – the frequent appearance of daffodils has become something of recurring gag. Almost any time a character presents another with flowers, those flowers are (or include) daffodils.
Daffodils symbolize rebirth. Each and every year, the bulbs regrow from the cold, dead earth and flower anew.
It’s easy to see why this theme integrates well with Futurama from the start. As a 20th Century throwback that fell into a freezer-doodle and came to the future-jiggy, the story of delivery boy Philip J. Fry (Billy West) has always been one of rebirth. In order to work alongside one-eyed misfit Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal) and 30% iron chef Bender Bending Rodriguez (John DiMaggio) at Planet Express, Fry left his old life behind through a metaphorical resurrection in the show’s very first episode.
However, in the years since “Space Pilot 3000,” the series has been canceled, resurrected, canceled again, resurrected some more, canceled a third time, and so on. Thus over time, the daffodil has only grown to be even more appropriate for the series, symbolically speaking.
Futurama Season 11
But is it Futurama? This answer is simple: yes. However, explaining exactly why would veer too far into spoiler territory.
Suffice it to say that at this point, a resumption of the Futurama narrative is something that has happened so often, it’s nearly been codified. The Hulu reincarnation – or Hulurama, as briefly flashes across the title card of the slightly updated theme song – has some slight evolutions. However, it should be noted that (at this point) that’s actually part of the Futurama formula.
The previous reboots of the series have also seen a slight update to the status quo of the heroes: for example, when Futurama season 7* began airing on Comedy Central, Fry was updated from a “fish out of water” to a full-fledged denizen of the year 3010. Similar status quo updates characterize Futurama season 11.
*(Collected on disc as “Volume Five,” I’m referring to these episodes as “season 7” here based on Hulu’s decision to call this new run of episodes “season 11.” This makes the four straight-to-DVD movies “season 6,” which is how they are currently listed in the Hulu Animation library.)
Hulurama
Speaking of Hulu, it’s clear that the intention is to make this new era of Futurama the centerpiece of their own one-stop animation stop.
To this end, Futurama was heavily promoted at San Diego Comic-Con 2023. Beyond a cleverly designed convention bag featuring Bender using his extend-o-arm to take a group selfie of the PlanEx crew, there was also an impressive activation featuring smaller spotlights for the rest of the Hulu Animation lineup and culminating in a huge recreation of the PlanEx building (including the smoking crashed ship).
Furthermore, Hulu’s decision to release the 10 episodes of season 11 weekly rather than in a single season drop demonstrates their confidence in the quality of the show’s reincarnation. Judging by the 6 episodes I’ve watched, over and over again, like a total freaking Melllvar, this confidence is well-earned.
We’re (All) Back, Baby!
Another key element of the success of rebooting the series comes from the return of the entire main cast, including Lauren Tom (Amy Wong), Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad), Tress MacNeille (various), Maurice LaMarche (various), Dawnn Lewis (LaBarbara Conrad), Frank Welker (Nibbler), and David Herman (various). You can also expect the return of some of the show’s most beloved guest stars.
Finally, it bears pointing out that DiMaggio almost refused to return to Futurama, citing unfair wages. Fortunately, this issue was resolved and DiMaggio does indeed appear as Bender. The result is a high-quality season of Futurama that will be discussed throughout its duration and (like the rest of the series) well into the years beyond.
It’s almost like there’s a lesson here.
New weekly episodes of Futurama begin Monday, July 24th, 2023 on Hulu.
Thanks for the great spoiler-free review. Really looking forward to season 11.
I’m not confused by this being season 11, since Apple has sold the first 10 seasons for many years now — that’s how I watch it. I just wish somebody would fix the pixelated animation on the opening for some of the seasons by now.
Not all of us are back, baby. I refuse to sign on to a streaming service for a fee just to watch new episodes.
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