Futurama Cancelled Again

Futurama has been cancelled again, years after its controversial first cancellation and a fervent campaign to revive the cult favorite cartoon.

When Futurama was originally cancelled, its initial run from 1999 to 2003 didn’t make a massive ratings impression. But over the years, vocal fans frequently lamented the loss of the hilarious animated show, and mounted an effort to bring it back to television.

What may have fallen on deaf ears back when Futurama debuted enabled a more palpable call for the show’s return — the internet evidenced a love for and dedication to the adventures of cryogenically frozen delivery boy Philip J. Fry, his love interest Leela, and a host of mutants and aliens living in 31st Century “New New York.”

By 2009, Futurama had been resuscitated, though it wouldn’t return to its original home on Fox. Comedy Central offered the sleeper hit a new home and a new life, and the reboot of the animated show was well received even by die hard fans.

Initial Futurama episodes after the first cancellation didn’t air until 2012, and even as the hit faces a second death, its creators just seemed pleased it got another chance before the curtains closed.

David X. Cohen said of the second Futurama cancellation:

“I felt like we were already in the bonus round on these last couple of seasons, so I can’t say I was devastated by the news … It was what I had expected two years earlier. At this point I keep a suitcase by my office door so I can be cancelled at a moment’s notice.”

Executive Vice President of Programming at Comedy Central Dave Bernath commented:

“That’s a helluva run that few shows achieve, and especially given the fact that it came back to life, it’s really an amazing story … I’m more thankful and feel a sense of gratitude toward the whole process — and that we found a way to keep going for 52 more episodes — than I really am even thinking about the ending. It’s a blessing that it came back and lasted so long.”

Are you bummed out by Futurama‘s second cancellation, or do all good things have to come to an end?