On Monday, Comedy Central announced that this season, the show’s seventh, would be the last for cult favorite “Futurama.”  This marks the second time the animated series has faced the ax, having originated on Fox in 1999 and airing on that network until 2003.  But fans rallied around the program, created by “The Simpsons” mastermind Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and it aired in repeats on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.  The reruns performed well enough to generate a series of direct-to-DVD movies, which were then divided up into 30 minute episodes and run on Comedy Central as a fifth season, after which the network green lit new episodes and the show ran for two additional seasons.  Until now.
The show centered on Fry a “modern day” pizza delivery guy who is frozen in suspended animation only to be awoken in an insane future reality, where he joins Planet Express, a cosmic UPS, and partners with Bender, an alcoholic robot and the surly Leela, a no-nonsense, one-eyed pilot.  They are additionally joined by a comedic supporting cast, forming one of the funniest ensembles on television.
The second half of this final season will air on Wednesday, June 19th at 10 pm.  There will be 13 new episodes total, with the last airing on September 4th.
David X. Cohen commented, “I felt like we were already in the bonus round on these last couple of seasons, so I can’t say I was devastated by the news.  It was what I had expected two years earlier. At this point I keep a suitcase by my office door so I can be cancelled at a moment’s notice.”

Dave Bernath, from Comedy Central, added “Having the opportunity to bring ‘Futurama’ back for 52 episodes over these last four years has been a thrill for all of us at Comedy Central. The upcoming season promises to be the best final season of ‘Futurama’ yet.”

Is this the end?  “Futurama” has risen like a phoenix before.  Will fan demand be enough to revive it yet again?  And will the creators even be willing to return to this reality?

Matt Groening responded, “We’re catching our breath and seeing what the fans have to say. The experience of this show has been so much fun from the very beginning to now — everybody is so happy to work on this show — that it’d be a shame if we all went our separate ways … We would love to continue. We have many more stories to tell. But if we don’t, this is a really great way to go out … I think these episodes are the best ones we’ve ever done.”

This series has excelled in absurd humor and paved the way for ensemble shows like “Community.”  It is infinitely quote-able… I mean “Take my money now!”  Hello?!

So how do you feel?  (As if I need to ask.)  Do you want more “Futurama” in your future?  Who would you like to see pick this series up?  Could they continue on Netflix, a la “Arrested Development?”  Comment below!