Nearly 25 years after first airing in 1999, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen have done it again. Restored the cast of Futurama, to bring it back for yet another season while still providing enough to prove the show has not lost a step. For an animated comedy that relies heavily on the familiarity of its characters in relatable situations, Futurama is the best it has been in years.
Futurama is at its strongest in its episodic loop. No matter how insane the antics of the Planetary Express delivery team get, episodes typically end with the team remaining intact, despite even death. Season 12 takes this formula and bolsters it with current events (just like last season’s Bitcoin episode) in the same vein as Family Guy or South Park. Although Futurama takes place 1000 years into the future, real-life issues, like the complexities of NFTs, are still explored in hilarious, and relatable ways. No matter the delivery job for the team or how dangerous, the heroes reset after each episode.
Futurama made it a point to bring back the original cast of the Planetary Express team which allows Season 12 to feel like it could very well slot within the confines of Seasons 3-6. The cast’s familiarity and timing with line delivery is the best it has ever been, and Billy West’s Professor Farnsworth is the best since the series’ inception.
Futurama proves that it’s ‘still got it’ by continuing its strong episode structure, introducing the cast to new antics each episode while exploring the greater lore of the series. In one such episode, recurring characters, like the Harlem Globetrotters’ Ethan, return with their signature quirks intact like the ability to solve expert math equations on the fly and in a dire circumstance like the threat of mortal danger. It feels like business as usual.
“Futurama made it a point to bring back the original cast of the Planetary Express team which allows Season 12 to feel like it could very well slot within the confines of Seasons 3-6.”
This insistence on pulling characters forward from the greater series archives is another Futurama strength. The 12 seasons of background characters and the development of these characters allow them to pop in and out of scenes organically like celebrity cameos in regular sitcoms, but as inside jokes for the Futurama faithful.
At one moment this season, the Futurama team flashes back to a scene 23 years into the past, and while constantly flashing forwards and backwards from past to future. This main plotline of a 23-year time jump is sidetracked by the chaos of side characters creating problems wherever they can for the team and showcases the magic of Futurama. There are endless possibilities from Futurama’s weird universe, providing the show with narrative threads that Matt Groening is too eager to pull on. This is a feat only possible for shows with the staying power of Futurama.
During a delivery mission where the Planetary Express team need to cater an alien wedding between Lrrr and Ndnd (the most toxic of alien relationships), the team contends with a dire mistake they’ve made in the past while dealing with the disaster of catering to alien conquerors on their special day. This is chaotic, hilarious, and very much Futurama. Hats off to Matt Groening and David X. Cohen for the narrative gymnastics.
“Good news, everyone! Futurama is back, and better than ever.”
Without spoilers, the production team’s navigation of the moving pieces in “The Temp” makes it the strongest episode in the season so far, and the comedic timing couldn’t be more on the money with all of the character chemistry hitting an all-time high. Genuinely laugh out loud funny moments are what’s on the menu for Season 12, and I’m gladly here for it.
Futurama Season 12 is a breath of fresh air. Instead of focusing on the convoluted storyline of multiple universes the team at Planetary Express had to deal with last season (with the universe restarting and all), Futurama went back to basics and let the show do what it does best, let its characters shine during genuinely funny and chaotic moments.
While some of the references to pop culture—like Bender’s NFT collection—can feel a little ‘too late,’ Futurama rebounds with hilarious plot writing and zany antics for the sum of its characters. Good news, everyone! Futurama is back, and better than ever.
