12 Game-Changing Futurama Storylines That Will Blow Your Mind in Hulu's Revival
Futurama's revival holds the potential to rectify past missteps and breathe new life into the beloved series Explore the controversial storylines that Season 11 can fix, from character development to addressing social issues, promising an exciting and satisfying comeback
Summary
Futurama's season 11 revival could bring back characters with unfulfilled potential.
The revival should improve on the inconsistent anthology episodes from past seasons.
The show should address and make up for past misjudged plot lines.
The Futurama revival is going strong, but there are some controversial storylines from earlier seasons that season 11 should address. Futurama has a tumultuous history. It originally aired in 1999 and lasted four seasons before getting canceled in 2003. However, it was later revived with four straight-to-DVD feature-length spinoff movies between 2007 and 2008. The popularity of these movies led to another revival in 2010 for two more seasons. After being canceled again in 2013, Hulu revived the series once more in 2023.
Given this history, it's not surprising that the season 11 premiere of Futurama used a meta-joke to poke fun at the show's rocky network history. Since then, the revival has been relatively smooth sailing. Despite concerns about too much topical humor, such as references to cryptocurrency and pandemics, the first few episodes of season 11 maintained a focus on the show's main characters. However, even with the positive signs, there is still an opportunity for the revival to revisit and resolve some past storylines that didn't quite hit the mark the first time around.
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8 Futurama’s Revival Can Bring Back Harold Zoid
Harold, who made his debut in Futurama season 3, episode 8 titled "That’s Lobstertainment!", was an unimpressive addition to the show's cast. His presence in the series was never justified, and he quickly faded from memory. In fact, the producers themselves admitted that "That’s Lobstertainment!" was one of the least-liked episodes of Futurama's third season, as revealed in the DVD commentary.
Fortunately, The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria is still available to reprise this role in a season 11 revival episode. This new outing could provide Zoidberg's uncle with a sense of purpose beyond mere slapstick silliness, ultimately redeeming a character who had vast untapped potential. While the characters of Futurama enjoy deriding Zoidberg, he remains a beloved figure among fans, thus warranting a more honorable legacy for his uncle on the show than simply being remembered as "That's Lobstertainment!"
7 Futurama’s Revival Could Get Anthology Episodes Right
Similar to The Simpsons, Futurama sometimes divided its episodes into three mini-stories using a framing device. However, this approach yielded inconsistent results, particularly after the show's initial cancellation. Therefore, Futurama's season 11 revival needs to compensate for the disappointing episodes from season 7, episode 19, "Saturday Morning Fun Pit," and season 6, episode 13, "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular." Despite having previously created numerous exceptional anthology episodes, these two outings were strongly disliked by fans and struggled with the format.
6 Futurama’s Revival Could Retcon The Show’s Worst Episode
One storyline that has been largely overlooked in Futurama is the one that started in season 6, episode 3, "Attack of the Killer App." This particular episode received a lot of criticism because a significant part of the plot inexplicably focused on a mean-spirited parody of Susan Boyle, a relatively unknown contestant from Britain's Got Talent. In the end, Mom's company transformed millions of customers into mindless drones. Now, with the return of Mom in Futurama season 11, episode 5, "Related to Items You've Viewed," and her company rebranded as Momazon, there is a perfect opportunity for the show to delve into what happened after this abandoned storyline.
5 Futurama’s Revival Could Undo Its Transphobic Episode
While many of Futurama's errors were disliked because they lacked humor or purpose, some of the show's ill-conceived storylines had more damaging effects. A notable example is found in season 4, episode 12, "Bend Her," where Bender manipulatively changed his gender to gain an unfair advantage in sports competitions against female robots. This plot received criticism for its inherent transphobia, as highlighted by PinkNews. Unlike the crossover with The Simpsons, these critiques were not solely aimed at the weak writing but rather at the entire premise of the episode, which promoted transphobic ideas. As a result, it is crucial for the season 11 revival to acknowledge and rectify this problematic depiction of gender roles.
4 Futurama Season 11 Could Address Leela’s Sporting Career
3 Futurama Season 11 Can Give Cubert and Dwight A Solid Story
Futurama season 3, episode 16, titled "A Leela of Her Own," introduced Leela as the worst blernsball player in history due to her short-lived career in the sport. However, this episode was not well-received, causing her accomplishments and fame in blernsball to be disregarded. In a potential follow-up storyline, it would be interesting to explore whether Leela is still remembered for her blernsball skills and if she ever made a comeback in the sport. Addressing these unresolved aspects could help redeem the lackluster conclusion of this forgotten plot line.
Futurama's season 3, episode 12, titled "The Route of All Evil," took a bold approach by giving Cubert and Dwight their own storyline. However, compared to the stronger episodes in the show's season 11 revival, this particular outing falls short. To make amends for the somewhat pointless events of their earlier episode, these two young heroes deserve another standalone adventure that showcases their ability to carry a compelling narrative on their own.
2 Futurama Season 11 Can Focus On Kif, Amy, and Their Kids
Futurama rectified one of the show’s significant errors by dedicating an entire episode in season 11 to Amy and Kif. The birth of their offspring was portrayed in season 11, episode 4, titled "Children of a Lesser Bog." However, despite this progress, they still require more attention due to the disappointment caused by Futurama season 4, episode 1, "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch." In that particular episode, Kif's pregnancy inexplicably became a story centered around Leela, thus Amy rightfully deserves a greater focus in the future to counterbalance this unnecessary diversion.
1 Futurama Season 11 Can Address Bender’s Free Will (Properly)
In the episode "Free Will Hunting" of Futurama's seventh season, an intriguing question arises regarding Bender's possession of free will. This inquiry is sparked by his near-fatal encounter with Professor Farnsworth. Despite the potential for a thought-provoking storyline, the show fails to explore this theme adequately and leaves viewers without a satisfying resolution or character development. To address this missed opportunity, the revival of Futurama in its eleventh season should delve back into this plot and delve deeper into the existential predicament. Exploring whether Bender, an ethically ambiguous antihero, truly bears no responsibility for his actions would certainly pique interest. By revisiting this forgotten plot, Futurama's season 11 revival has the potential to provide a more profound episode that offers an answer to this burning question.
