Head ... exploding ... Futurama has ceased production but may come back!
From the succulent Junior Mintz:
Yo, Hercules! Junior Mintz here at the computer while the theater manager is on a bathroom break.
Just got the word seconds ago. FUTURAMA is not officially cancelled, though it is on a sort of hiatus. Turns out Fox, which hates the show as they do not own it and Groening does, has been giving it a sort of secondary status for the late few years, i.e., running it when they feel like it, dropping it when they don't.
Turns out they have so many unaired episodes between seasons three
and four (some reports indicate as many as 30!) that they don't need to
commission any new shows for season five and can keep running them
whenever. Will they ever start production on new episodes? Hard to say. The
staff isn't too hopeful, but Fox has not given the Planet Express crew final
notice yet.
From someone Herc vouches for as a reliable insider:
Fox TV prez Sandy Grushow called Matt Groening last Friday and said Fox "couldn't see its way clear to ordering any new episodes." I suspect this was due to: the fact that we have two dozen episodes in the can (and we only air 14 to 16 times a year); Fox's losses in viewership and advertising losses, which have led to extreme cost-cutting measures; and a weak syndication market that is already glutted with The Simpsons and King of the Hill. If any or all of these things change, then Fox might reconsider its decision but, in the meantime, all the current writers and animators of Futurama are looking for new jobs. Sorry to confirm the bad news.
From “efx”:
I just wanted to add my two cents worth to this. I am one of the animators on Futurama, and it is true we've been given our walking papers (until Rough Draft gets another project, hopefully). It seems we've come out on the wrong end of the pissing match that's gone on between Groening and the head suits at Fox TV. While Fox hasn't 'officially' cancelled the show, they haven't picked up the fifth season. That means we're in limbo. Matt can't take the show to another network and we won't make our syndication number (all we needed was 16 more shows to syndicate). And that also means region 1 dvd's will probably never see the light of day. Nobody ever said the entertainment business was fair, but the state the animation industry is in these days, artists are the ones paying the price for the clashing of egos higher up. That's about all I've got. Thanks
From “Reed”:
Hey Herc,
hope things are well cos I'm about to break some bad news: Futurama didn't get picked up for next season:(
The show might come back, but it likely won't have the same writers. Kind of a shock for all of us, but them's are the breaks.
Just when you thought FOX couldn't suck anymore they do!! This is a sad day indeed, why not re-encourage everyone to go to the William S Paley Festival to meet the Futurama writers(if it's still on) cos that might be the last ever Futurama gathering! take care
reed
From “Gannon”:
Hi Herc... Im a brit and came across this distressing piece of news on the Futurama website gotfuturama.com... They say, and they dont appear to be kidding, that futurama is to be cancelled as Fox has not picked up series 5 and have "told their animators to look for other work".. i've pasted the news article from the site here: "Futurama Cancelled True or not ? There has been quite some rumour since someone left a note about this on our comment system. Well, it originated from a place with inside info in LA and I got word from two other people involved with the show. Either they are planning on some big PR stunt with this or .... FUTURAMA IS DEAD! Rough Draft called its animators yesterday, telling them they'll need to find a new job as FOX hasn't picked up the show for season 5. I can't name our sources, but they are credible. What do we do now? Well, we need to contact the people who make the decisions. YOU need to contact the people who make the decisions. This does involve writing a letter and having a stamp in case you live in the USA. So get that! Addresses and more to be announced as things emerge. In case you contact FOX by email, stay polite as you want something from them, not the other way round." As a fan, and one who has really only just discovered its beauty, i find this shocking and another example of the fox network treating its own product badly.. I have no other news other than that, but being the news mogal you are, i was wondering whether you could look into the validity of this... heres hoping thanx Gannon
From “Jason”:
Hey Herc, I'm a long-time reader of AICN and hate to make this the first piece of news I have to submit, but things are serious. According to a post by a Futurama animator on Peelified.com (a Futurama forum), Futurama has been cancelled. Now things aren't completely confirmed, but this guy's a reliable source. Apparently, Fox plans on using the remaining Season 4 episodes to carry them as far out as possible (into Season 5) and then that's it. Of course, any Futurama Fan knows the shabby treatment Fox has given Futurama. It's like the execs wanted to do everything they could to kill the show. They've only shown 4 new episodes this season. A fifth was pulled at the last minute for a Simpsons repeat. (While the Simpsons were preempted for that "The Chamber.") And even the repeats they "aired" were preempted constantly for football. CGEF is going to organize a letter writing campaign and I think a good portion of AICN's audience would be interested in joining. If it's true and Futurama is cancelled, then there's nothing left for me to watch on Fox. Here's CGEF's URL: http://www.gotfuturama.com
Urgh. Argh.
