TVWeek.com reports that Comedy Central has ordered 13 all-new episodes of Futurama from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. FOX cancelled the series three years ago and was considering bringing it back in light of strong DVD sales. Now it appears that Fry, Bender and the gang have found a new home in the same neighborhood as Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny.
Futurama centers on Fry (Billy West), a pizza delivery boy who is accidentally cryogenically frozen and thawed out a thousand years later to find himself a fish out of water in a futuristic society. Having joined up with an intergalactic delivery service, he travels the galaxy and gets into wacky adventures with a rag-tag crew of bizarre characters. West is reportedly returning to the audio booth for the new episodes, as are Katey Segall as Leela and John DiMaggio as Bender.
The show lasted five seasons on FOX and earned three Emmy Awards, including Best Animated Series of 2002. Cartoon Network then picked it up in syndication, adding it to its successful [adult swim] lineup. When that contract expires in December of 2007, exclusive rights will go to Comedy Central, which bought 72 episodes at $400,000 apiece. The new episodes are slated to premiere sometime in 2008, joining Comedy Central’s animated hits South Park and Drawn Together.
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