Futurama star John DiMaggio has spoken out on the sci-fi show's history of cancelations, believing the cult animation has always gotten "the short end of the stick."
Created by The Simpsons' Matt Groening and TV writer David X. Cohen, Futurama was first broadcast on Fox in 1999.
The sitcom has only officially been canceled twice, with Hulu reviving the series for a third time in 2023. However, a lack of support from networks over the years, coupled with an erratic broadcast schedule meant the animation's future was always uncertain for the cast and crew, despite its high viewership figures and dedicated fanbase.
"I don't know how many times we've been canceled, I've lost count," DiMaggio, who voices the robot Bender and several other characters, told Newsweek ahead of season 12's release on July 26.
"We're very ecstatic about [being back], but we're also like, you could have just kept on doing the show. It would have been just fine."
"It's like riding a bike, really," the 55-year-old continued. "And everybody's just as good, ya know, the second and third and fourth and fifth time."
According to DiMaggio and David Herman—who voices many of the show's beloved characters including Scruffy the Janitor, Mayor Poopenmeyer and Dr. Ogden Wernstrom—Fox never really believed in Futurama, despite The Simpsons being a mega-hit for the network.
"When we were when we were on Fox, I was working on King of Hill and Futurama at the time, and their slogan was—we were on at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.—and Fox's slogan was 'It all starts at 8,'" Herman told Newsweek, bursting into laughter.
Although Groening wanted Futurama to air on Sunday nights at 8:30pm, immediately after The Simpsons, the show's time slot was constantly shuffled around, with the first four seasons airing inconsistently and out of order. Despite winning an Emmy for Best Animated Show, Fox declined to renew the show for a fifth season in 2003.
However, reruns continued to air on Adult Swim and Comedy Central, with the latter reviving Futurama through four direct-to-video sequel movies (now considered the sixth season). Comedy Central also renewed Futurama for two more seasons, before the sitcom was canceled yet again.
In 2022, Hulu brought back Futurama for a third time, ordering 20 episodes. The first 10 aired in 2023, with the next 10 coming to the streaming service on Friday.
The threat of cancelation is a running joke in several of cartoon's season premieres, with showrunners also writing the final episode of each season as a potential finale.
"It's glorious to be back, but I just want you to know we've always been on the bubble," Herman said. "Everywhere we've been, except for maybe Hulu, Hulu is very supportive."
DiMaggio agreed, adding: "We've been getting the short end of the stick for a while, but it's always great."
When asked if they're concerned about Futurama getting canceled again, DiMaggio said: "Yeah, always, but who cares?"
"There's not an actor I know that doesn't think like this is the last job I'm gonna have," Herman said. "That's the life."
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