Good news, FUTURAMA fans! Even though the second half of season six doesn’t begin airing until June, Comedy Central and 20th Century Fox Television have announced a twenty-six episode season 7.
The entire original voice cast, including stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, and John DiMaggio, will return to Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s brilliantly subversive animated sci-fi comedy for the thirteen episode apiece seasons 7-A (airing in 2012) and 7-B (scheduled for 2013).
David Bernath, Executive Vice President, program strategy and multiplatform programming for Comedy Central, commented,
“Successfully bringing the show back last summer was gratifying enough. Now, being able to extend the series for two more years is beyond our expectations! The dedicated fans have spoken and we are excited to bring them ‘Futurama’ for the foreseeable future.”
Last summer’s episodes of Futurama on Comedy Central averaged 2.5 million viewers each week, along with a 1.5 P18-49 rating, a 3.0 M18-34 rating and 3.3 M18-24 rating. In the social media realm, the Futurama Facebook fan base has grown to eleven million “likes,” making it one of Facebook’s top television sites.
“We’re very grateful to COMEDY CENTRAL and Twentieth Television for this show of support,” said Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. “Our entire staff will celebrate tonight by going out and getting even drunker.”
TCFTV Chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman said,
“Matt and David created one of the most brilliantly subversive animated comedies ever made in Futurama and we consider its continued life on Comedy Central to be a huge victory for this studio. This show is a tremendous labor of love for all concerned, from its talented voice cast to the incredible writers and animators who pour so much of themselves into every episode. And its fans are among the most loyal and passionate there are, so we’re especially pleased to be able to promise them many more original episodes to look forward to in the years ahead.”
Futurama focuses on the life of Philip Fry (Billy West), a 25 -year-old pizza delivery boy who accidentally freezes himself on December 31, 1999 and wakes up 1,000 years later with a fresh start at life and a “diverse” new group of friends including Leela (Katey Sagal), a tough but lovely one-eyed alien and Bender (John DiMaggio), a robot who possesses human characteristics and flaws. The series aired for five seasons on Fox (1999 to 2003) earning Emmy nominations each season while winning three times, including “Outstanding Animated Program” in 2002.
Season 6 of Futurama returns to Comedy Central with new episodes beginning Thursday, June 23 at 10pm eastern/9 central.
You can read all our Futurama coverage here.
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