Difference between revisions of "Speculation of Futurama's return until the second run"

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During much of Spring, 2009, and earlier, roamed '''large speculation about the status of ''[[Futurama]]''''' and whether it would return after ''[[Into the Wild Green Yonder]]''.  On 9 June, 2009, it was officially confirmed that the show would return for its [[second run]], beginning with a 26 episode long [[Season 6|production season 6]].<ref name="official-word">{{cite web |url=http://www.comedycentral.com/press/press_releases/2009/061009_futurama_returns.jhtml |title="Futurama" returns to production with an initial order of 26 episodes to premiere mid 2010 |publisher=Comedy Central |date=2009-06-09 |accessdate=2009-06-10}}</ref>
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This article describes the rumours and speculation up until that point.
 
== Initial purpose of the films ==
 
After 3-4 years of hiatus due to cancellation, the show saw new light when [[season 5]] was ordered.  Season 5, unlike prior seasons, saw its light as four films cut into episodes, which would ultimately become production season 5.
 
There have been a general concern with the film format for ''Futurama'', and most fear that it doesn't fit the show, and would prefer ''Futurama'' back as a weekly show.
 
When the films were announced back during 2006 &ndash; 2007, many fans immediately thought of this an opportunity to prove to Fox that this show still had the gist, and they were willing to put their efforts (i.e. money) into getting these films a larger success than Fox could anticipate, and thus coming around with a renewal of the show with one or more TV seasons.
 
Indeed, some fans would had considered the effort of the films entirely pointless had the show not been renewed.
 
== Rise of speculation ==
When ''[[Bender's Game]]'' had been released, [[David X. Cohen]] appeared in an interview,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=61754 |title=A Future For ''Futurama''? |author=Spelling, Ian |publisher=Sci Fi Wire |date=2008-10-28 |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> expressing hope for the show to be picked up once more.  He said, "[h]ope never dies on Futurama, or not anymore," explaining it with "[i]t died once, but once you introduce the idea that you can come back from the dead, then the second time you have to have a little bit of hope that you might come back to life yet again."
 
But Cohen's hope was not without reasoning, "[t]he hard facts would seem to support us coming back again. From what we have heard, the DVDs have sold very well, and I have heard the phrase 'greatly exceeded' 20th Century Fox's expectations", but warns fans not to get too excited just yet, because "[w]e haven't heard anything, yes or no, so it's familiar territory."
 
=== Fox talk considerations ===
Nearing the release of ''[[Into the Wild Green Yonder]]'', HippoJuice did an interview with [[Billy West]] at South Florida Anime Supercon.<ref name="hippojuice">{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi920ztPFIQ |title=YouTube video of HippoJuice interview |site=YouTube}}</ref><ref name="den-of-geek-analysis">{{cite web|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/television/205437/more_futurama_on_the_way.html |title=More Futurama On The Way? |publisher=Den of Geek |author=McEwan, Cameron K. |date=2009-02-19 |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> Among other things, Billy mentioned about a possible '''[[Season 6|sixth season]]''' being in discussion internally at Fox.
 
Billy West's comments was quickly picked up by fans, whom assumed that Billy West may had access to some information about the show that they didn't.  As such, rumours and speculation stirred after the interview.  [[Matt Groening]] and [[David X. Cohen]] also tried to stir it up discussing that the "[9th] Odd [Thing] We Now Know About Futurama" was the show returning,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/features/9-odd-things-we-now-know-about-futurama |title=9 Odd Things We Now Know About Futurama |publisher=TotalFilm.com |date=2009-02-20 |author=White, James |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> and continued to speak of the sixth season in other interviews as well.<ref name="movieweb">{{cite web |url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEjrYsjpvdUwms |title=Go Beyond ''Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder'' |publisher=MovieWeb |date=2009-02-24 |author=Gallagher, Brian |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref>  David X. Cohen went out himself and told IGN "[t]he good news is it really might happen. And the bad news is it really might happen",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dvd.ign.com/articles/963/963098p1.html |title=The Future of Futurama |publisher=IGN |date=2009-02-27 |author=White, Cindy |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> whom then went even further with a statistic chance of it returning as 50/50.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://i.gizmodo.com/5163848/futuramas-creator-isnt-afraid-of-robots-doesnt-own-a-roomba |title=Futurama's Creator Isn't Afraid of Robots, Doesn't Own a Roomba |publisher=Gizmodo |date=2009-03-05 |author=Chen, Jason |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref>
 
Despite all the good talk in the media, ''Futurama'' [[fandom|fans]] were still not entirely convinced, and wanted a more solid prove of its returning, and not just its crew wishing it would return.
 
In March, however, the British tabloid, ''{{w|Zoo Weekly|ZOO}}'', published a full page interview with [[Matt Groening]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.futurama-madhouse.com.ar/miscpics/zoomag_mg_interview.jpg |title=Futurama's Shock Return! |publisher=ZOO |date= |author= |format=Image |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> where is supposed to be stating that ''Futurama'' would be back in some form.  Due to its nature, however, the news was not entirely convincing, and since no other media outlet supported ''ZOO''{{ap}}s article, it was assumed to be a misunderstanding.
 
=== Spring stir ===
 
For about a moment, the rumours and interviews laid quiet, until Matt Groening appeared in an interview for the A.V. Club,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/matt-groening,25525/ |title=Matt Groening |publisher=A.V. Club |date=2009-03-25 |author=Ryan, Kyle|accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> in which he seemed to be sort of suggesting that he was getting his arms down in excitement, since in the television industry it is so easy to just say no.  However, he was still convinced that it would be financially smart to renew ''Futurama''.
 
On the radio show, ''{{w|Coast to Coast AM}}'', Billy West once again mentioned that the negotiations are still going, but also encouraged fans to write in letters and e-mails to Fox, which might help them consider.<ref name="coast-to-coast">{{cite web |url=http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2009/04/18 |title=Saturday 04-18-09 Show Recap |site=Coast to Coast AM |date=2009-04-18 |accessdate=2009-04-21}}</ref><ref name="peel-ctc">{{cite web |url=http://www.peelified.com/index.php?topic=17054.msg1029587#msg1029587 |title="Will there be any new Futurama after the movies?" Page 4 |site=[[Planet Express Employee Lounge|PEEL]] |author=Ralph Snart |date=2009-04-21 |accessdate=2009-04-21}}</ref>
 
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This section is not terrible, I just feel it should be reworded to be use in the article's current form.
 
=== Contradiction regarding talks ===
In February, 2009, Matt Groening stated in an interview that "'''[w]e're talking with Fox about doing more episodes and I hope we can'''. Just looking at the numbers, it seems to make sense. They're making money", indicating that there certainly was talks in the works.<ref name="movieweb"/>
 
However, later in early March, David X. Cohen stated "[b]asically, all I genuinely know is that Fox is talking about it, they're thinking about it. '''But they're not talking about it with us''', they're thinking about it among themselves. We know it's under consideration, apparently it's taking a while."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://io9.com/5165221/if-futurama-comes-back-whats-next-for-planet-express |title=If Futurama Comes Back, What's Next For Planet Express? |publisher=io9 |author=Woerner, Meredith |date=2009-03-05 |accessdate=2009-04-24}}</ref>  These contradictions in interviews have left fans puzzling, and speculation regards whether each ''Futurama'' crew member has each of their own interpretation of the actual ongoings at Fox or whether some of them are deliberately spicing up the truth.  Indeed, Billy West have been easy to tell the world about the talks.<ref name="den-of-geek-analysis"/><ref name="coast-to-coast"/>
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=== Waiting for the 2009-10 U.S. television season upfronts ===
 
Fox was supposed to announce its {{w|upfronts}} for its 2009-10 U.S. television slate on 28 May, 2009.  When the British ''Digital Spy'' created a list of television shows of interest to British and American viewers, including already renewed shows and axed shows, but also showed still up for grabs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a150760/us-tv-show-status-2009-10-season.html |title=US TV Show Status: 2009-10 season |publisher=Digital Spy |author=Wilkes, Neil |date=2009-04-14 |accessdate=2009-05-10 }}</ref>  During its original release, ''Futurama'' appeared on the list as a possibility, but unconfirmed, however, it later disappeared entirely, perhaps moved by Fox's press release for the coming season, where no mention of ''Futurama'' was made.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?date=05/18/09&id=20090518fox03 |title=Fox Announces Primetime Slate for 2009-2010 season |publisher=The Futon Critic |date=2009-05-18 |accessdate=2009-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a156296/scorecard-whats-in-and-out-at-fox.html |title=Scorecard: What's in and out at Fox |publisher=Digital Spy |author=Wilkes, Neil |date=2009-05-18 |accessdate=2009-05-18}}</ref>
 
Fans then considered what ''Comedy Central'' was going to do, since they are the only one in the U.S. airing the show.  But fans were let down again, when ''Comedy Central'' announced its plans for the 2009-10 U.S. television season, which included no announcement for the renewal of ''Futurama''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://realitytvwebsite.com/RealityTVNews/Comedy-Central-Locks-In-The-Laughs-With-Its-2009-2010-Development-Slate-And-Greenlights-Animated-Series-UGLY-AMERICANS.html |title=Comedy Central Locks In The Laughs With Its 2009-2010 Development Slate And Greenlights Animated Series "UGLY AMERICANS" |date=2009-05-19 |site=RealityTVWebsite |accessdate=2009-05-20}}</ref>
 
== Collider's rumour and official word ==
 
On 7 June, 2009, Collider reported about a reliable source within ''Comedy Central'', that it is going to renew ''Futurama'' for a 13 episode season, though at its time of writing, it made clear it was still technically a "rumour", but remained certain that its sources were correct.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collider.com/2009/06/07/exclusive-comedy-central-goes-back-to-the-futurama/ |title=Exclusive: Comedy Central Goes Back to the FUTURAMA |date=2009-06-07 |publisher=Collider |author=Kemp, Cal |accessdate=2009-06-08}}</ref>
 
Collider's rumour was, however, quickly turned into actual news, and could take its "rumour" label off its story.  Because two days later on 9 June, ''Comedy Central'' officially announced the renewal of the ''Futurama'' with a 26 new episode season.<ref name="official-word" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/06/its-official-futurama-returns.html |title=It's official: 'Futurama' is reborn! |publisher=Entertainment Weekly |author=Ausiello, Michael |date=2009-06-09 |accessdate=2009-06-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i388dc3328f74c5ee953fdf2f59564bb2 |title=Comedy Central resurrects 'Futurama' |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |author=Andreeva, Nellie |date=2009-06-09 |accessdate=2009-06-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118004722.html?categoryid=14&cs=1 |title='Futurama' returns with new episodes |publisher=Variety |author=Schneider, Michael |date=2009-06-09 |accessdate=2009-06-10}}</ref>
 
== References ==
{{reflist|2}}
 
[[Category:Futurama]]

Revision as of 19:22, 28 July 2010

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