Interview: NYCC + ‘Futurama’ = Fun on the Bun!

To quote Bender B Rodriguez, “We’re Back, Baby!” That’s right, Award’s Radar & The ‘Verse! came back to New York Comic Con for another look into Futurama presented by Hulu. 

This year, after their panel, Awards Radar spoke with Lee Supercinski (Producer), Claudi Katz (Executive Producer), Peter Avanzino (Supervising Director), John DiMaggio (Voice Actor), and Matt Groening (Creator). All of whom were in high spirits from the crowd’s energy at the panel. 

Feeding off of that energy, Groening was quick to address how Futurama’s fan base had saved the show. “In reruns of the cartoon, people finally, over years and years, caught on to it, and now it’s beloved. And we are doing great now. Hulu loves us.” This is good news for any Futurama fan. The Journeyman show originally started on the Fox Network before moving to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim to air reruns. Then, after a surge in popularity, the show moved to a new home on Comedy Central. Only to be canceled four years later. But in Hulu, Groening believes they have finally found their home.

This was Futurama’s second season on the streaming service, and several episodes have already stood out amongst fans. “Planet Espresso”, “The One Amigo”, and “Quids Game” are three of the standouts. The latter two deal with trauma, both generational and internal. “(In animation)Comedy and Science Fiction rarely mix well.” Groening noted this was because most comedy SciFi animated series relied on visual gags to make ships look like random objects. Instead of paying homage to the source material. 

Where that comedy does play well is when the experiences and traumas of the characters take center stage. “There is that old Mel Brooks quote about tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” Groening laughed. “I love a heartfelt and funny episode. I feel like that’s when we are at our best.” Katz added with the knowledge that addressing that trauma often leads to stronger episodes.

Speaking of stronger episodes, the crew also acknowledged the benefits of being on a streaming service instead of network television. Both Supercinski and Avanzino pointed out that they no longer have to shave frames to meet the time restraints of traditional television. The freedom of time leads to other advantages. Like being able to have more adlibs or spontaneous joke changes. Groening and DiMaggio then re-enacted a scene from when they were recording for Disenchantment, another one of Groening’s series on a different streaming service. You can listen to that below as it is better to hear than read.

The newest season of Futurama can be streamed in its entirety on Hulu.