The Futurama Revival Has Episodes About Covid, NFTs, And Cancel Culture
"Futurama" may be set in the 31st century, but its gaze is often toward the past. That's why the protagonist is 20th-century pizza delivery boy Philip J. Fry; after being cryogenically frozen for a millennium, Fry discovers life in the new present isn't all that different from the time he left behind. Historical figures from the 21st century even live on as disembodied heads in jars, allowing plenty of cameos from contemporary celebrities.
When the comedy of "Futurama" isn't character-driven, odds are it will be satirical. In the latest issue of SFX Magazine, executive producer Claudia Katz confirmed the upcoming revival will continue this spirit and lampoon the hottest news items of the 2020s:
"We have a vaccine episode. We've finally conquered COVID-19 in 3023, so that's a very fun exploration of the science, vaccines and just a commentary on that whole situation. There's a fun Bitcoin episode. And we have an NFT episode which, of course, no one understands, which is sort of the joke. And one of my favorite episodes of the season involves one of our cast members being canceled for their behaviour, so that's pretty fantastic."
The season's trailer includes some snippets of these episodes and the jokes they'll make. The Entertainment Identifier Registry also provides a sneak preview of the episode titles this season. From these, details about the episodes can be gleaned.
Piecing together the Futurama puzzle
The Covid episode of "Futurama" is almost certainly "Rage Against The Vaccine." Based on the recent trailer, the virus (Explovid-23) originates from the sewer mutants (or maybe they're just the scapegoat). Professor Farnsworth also invents a nose-swab test to determine who is infected with the virus — only the swab is about 3 feet long and you have to push it all the way up. Dr. Zoidberg, at least, is excited to try it. The trailer also shows the characters celebrating "Back to Normal Fest 3023" — 2021 and 2547 are crossed out on the banner.
The trailer includes shots of the characters in a wild west setting and costumes, with Fry gunfighting the Borax Kid (a Silicon-based cowboy). These are presumably from "How The West Was 1010001." Leela declares, "[It's] pretty lawless out here in crypto country" indicating this may also be the Bitcoin/NFT episode.
As for the cancel culture episode? Surprise, surprise, the one canceled is the lecherous, dimwitted starship captain Zapp Branigan. The episode is, fittingly, titled "Zapp Gets Canceled." Zapp previously lost his status back in the season 2 episode "Brannigan, Begin Again," but that time it was for nearly killing a space station full of diplomats. I imagine this transgression will be more personal in nature.
Going by the trailer, the topical jokes don't end there. There are also scenes of an Alexa-style virtual assistant (seemingly manufactured by MomCorp) spying on Fry and Leela as they're about to make love, and the main characters running from a giant sandworm right out of "Dune."
True satire
Of course, "Futurama" has always been about current events, even during the original 1999-2003 run. "A Head in the Polls" lampooned the absurdity of American elections, particularly the two-party monopoly, with two presidential candidates who are literally clones of each other. "Crimes of the Hot," meanwhile, is about global warming (with a small appearance by Al Gore). In "A Taste of Freedom," when Leela reminds President Nixon (yes, that Nixon, or at least his head) that Freedom of Expression is a constitutional right, he retorts, "Maybe so, but I know a place where the Constitution doesn't mean squat!" Smash cut to the Supreme Court.
Something that might give fans reason to be wary, however, is the Comedy Central revival of "Futurama." The lesser episodes of those seasons were generally the ones that lampooned current events, such as "Attack of the Killer App" (the early iPhone craze), "Proposition Infinity" (gay marriage), or "Decision 3012" (the racist conspiracies that then-President Barack Obama wasn't born in the U.S.).
These episodes didn't say much about these issues. Instead, they asked the audience to laugh because they recognized the overlaps with real life, like a political version of the Glup Shitto "Star Wars" meme. Plus, the news cycle moves faster in the 2020s than ever before. These crypto and Covid jokes feel like they could already be behind the curve when the new "Futurama" season premieres. Even within "Futurama" itself, the jokes could be stale — "Rage Against The Vaccine," for instance, runs the risk of repeating "Cold Warriors," where Fry reintroduced the long-eradicated common cold to the 31st century.
I hope the writers of this upcoming season of "Futurama" understand that reminding your audience of something isn't the same as satirizing it.
"Futurama" returns on July 24, streaming on Hulu.