Futurama Season 11 Episode 6: A Phenomenal Breakthrough from the Past

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Futurama season 11, episode 6

Summary

The Christmas special in season 11 of Futurama learned from past mistakes by avoiding the creation of an anthology episode, a choice that displeased fans during the show's previous revival. Instead of dedicating the entire episode to replicating the flaws of Christmas specials, this episode humorously mocked them.

Content

"Returning to its roots, "I Know What You Did Next Xmas" focused on a story centered around Robot Santa, capturing the essence of a classic Futurama Christmas episode.

Despite facing new challenges since its return for season 11, Futurama's Christmas special successfully avoided repeating a major mistake from its earlier revival. With a complex production history, Futurama originally aired from 1999 to 2003 before being cancelled after four seasons. In 2007, the series came back as four direct-to-DVD movies, which eventually led to a televised revival in 2010. However, this revival was short-lived, lasting only two seasons before being cancelled once again in 2013. Surprisingly, in 2023, Hulu brought the show back to life once more."

It is not surprising that Futurama's 11th season revival chose to steer clear of previous controversial storylines in order to safeguard the show's tenuous continuation, without reminding viewers of episodes that failed to resonate years ago. However, in episode 6 of season 11, they managed to avoid a significant error that plagued the earlier revival period from 2010 to 2013. "I Know What You Did Next Xmas," a festive special featuring the return of Robot Santa, marks the show's first Christmas episode since 2010. Unlike the holiday special from that year, "I Know What You Did Next Xmas" managed to sidestep a misstep that the show has historically struggled to avoid.

Futurama’s Latest Christmas Episode Isn’t An Anthology Story

Unlike the previous Christmas episodes, "I Know What You Did Next Xmas" is not an anthology outing, which was disliked by fans. Both "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" from season 7, episode 19, and "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" from season 6, episode 13, failed to impress viewers, indicating the lack of success in revival anthology episodes. The latter, a Christmas special, received poor ratings online despite earlier holiday episodes of Futurama being well-received. In "I Know What You Did Next Xmas," featured in Futurama season 11, the show cleverly acknowledged the pitfalls of Christmas specials while delivering a more straightforward story.

Futurama Season 11, Episode 6 Went Back To Basics

In the opening scene of "I Know What You Did Next Xmas," Amy and Kif's children gathered together to enjoy a Christmas special. This cleverly allowed Futurama season 11 to playfully satirize the conventions and clichés of traditional holiday specials, without having to dedicate the entire episode to replicating their aesthetic. The anthology episode "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" received a lukewarm response from viewers, mainly due to its lack of focus on faithfully recreating the flaws of cheap animated children's television. Similarly, "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" fell short as the stories were too brief and lacked substance to leave a lasting impact. In contrast, "I Know What You Did Next Xmas" successfully revived Futurama's exceptional approach to holiday episodes.

"I Know What You Did Next Xmas" was a Robot Santa-centric story, similar to season 2, episode 8, "Xmas Story", and season 4, episode 2, "A Tale of Two Santas". While earlier episodes in Futurama season 11 delved into Fry and Leela's relationship, Nibbler's bond with his owner, and Kif and Amy's parenting struggles, the Christmas special took a lighter approach with a less emotionally resonant story. Consequently, "I Know What You Did Next Xmas" felt like a traditional Futurama Christmas episode rather than an overly ambitious one, which was a flaw observed in the show's previous attempt at a holiday special back in 2010.