How many times was ‘Futurama’ cancelled?

Futurama is back! After 10 years of being off the air, the animated comedy show has returned through Hulu. Season 8 started exactly where the previous season ended. Professor Farnsworth offered Fry and Leela the chance to start over again once everyone was unfrozen.

While Futurama‘s return has gotten fans excited, this isn’t the first time the show has been canceled. This show has a complicated history, to the point where it was sometimes a joke within the show. Producers and writers have written multiple episodes that hinted at the end of the series, only for it to come back in a later season. So just how unstable was Futurama‘s time on the air?

How many times was Futurama cancelled?

Futurama was a show that, despite its popularity, constantly had to find a new home. It focused on the story of Fry and the rest of the crew members of The Planet Express as they embarked on whacky adventures across space (and in some cases, time). Overall, the show currently has an average audience score of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and won numerous Primetime Emmy Awards from 2000 to 2012.

However, its accolades and popularity weren’t enough to give it a stable home since it was canceled twice. The first was after season four in 2003, which ended following the episode “The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings.” The show didn’t intend for this episode to be the series finale and teased in the intro’s subtitle that they would see them on some other channel.

ScreenRant reported that Fox was unsupportive of Futurama, shuffling its timeslot and causing episode delays. The broadcaster also noticed it wasn’t as successful as The Simpsons. This led to the network ceasing the purchase of new episodes, and its absence lasted until 2008 when it was revived by Comedy Central. The first episode of Futurama’s comeback poked fun at its five-year absence.

Unfortunately, its stay on Comedy Central didn’t last long either. During its run at its new home, three open-ended episodes were written due to the show’s uncertain future. The last one, titled “Meanwhile,” not only served as season 7’s finale, but also the ending for the show itself.

Fortunately, Hulu has announced that it will pick up the series and plans to release 20 episodes in total. It’s currently unknown if Hulu plans to extend the series or it will just be a single season return, but it’s a start.

If you want to watch Futurama, the first episode of season eight is now available to stream on Hulu in the U.S, and on Disney Plus for international viewers.