Embargo July 22 at 11 am PT
Futurama is back and this time it’s coming to streaming, something that doesn’t go unmentioned by its classic characters throughout the new episodes.
The show’s original cast members John DiMaggio, Billy West, Katey Sagal, Lauren Tom, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, David Herman, and Tress MacNeille are all back for the eleventh season.
Jumping into the first episode feels like you never left, assuming you’re an existing fan of the show, if not, do not fear as both new and returning audience members can enjoy these new episodes. Despite the fact that there have been no new Futurama episodes for quite some time, season 11 manages to stay true to its predecessors and classic sense of humour.
It’s clear from the jump that this new season of Futurama is using its comedic take on the world to focus on the current state of Hollywood, specifically in regard to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that have been predicted for a relatively long time now.
The new episodes also poke fun at the fact that Futurama has now gone directly to the streaming platform Hulu. Characters such as Fry can even be seen at one point flicking through shows on a parody streamer called “Fulu”. This is just one of many meta references within the new episodes, an element that has perfectly been carried over from the classic seasons.
As we’ve said many times before, animation is a huge ranking factor for modern animated shows such as the Futurama reboot. When the animation is severely changed aka “improved”, it can often create a completely unfamiliar feel that is an easy way to lose your original key audience. However, Hulu’s Futurama genuinely feels as if you’re just watching another rerun from its original run 10+ years ago.
With that being said when asking the question ‘How does it compare to the original episodes?’, the answer is simple because the new episodes have the same feel as any of the classics. Futurama season 11 can be enjoyed by both die-hard fans of the show and those who have never seen an episode before.
4 out of 5 stars.
Futurama season 11 releases all 10 episodes on July 24 on Hulu.
