Television series

Futurama

Name: Futurama
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 1999
Cast: Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal, Billy West, Billy West

Futurama drops a hapless pizza boy a thousand years into the future and turns the workplace sitcom into deep space. It's a delivery-company screwball comedy stuffed with robots, mutants, and dying stars, funnier than it should be and sadder than it admits — a show for sci-fi nerds and anyone who wants a joke about doom followed by an actual gut-punch about mortality.

TVMaze rating

8.6

If you liked this

Rick and Morty2013

Same manic sci-fi-comedy engine — a cynical genius, a hapless sidekick, universe-hopping plots swinging from slapstick to real dread. If Futurama's mix of stupid and profound hooked you, this cranks the anarchy up considerably.

But Meaner and more nihilistic — less warmth underneath, more shock-value bleakness than melancholy.

The Simpsons1989

Same creator, same rhythm of gag-then-heartbreak, and the show that trained Groening's whole team to build a lived-in world out of throwaway jokes and recurring weirdos.

But No sci-fi, no ongoing plot — a completely different, more grounded kind of family satire.

Disenchantment2018

Groening's other big swing — same voice-cast energy, same habit of burying real sadness under slapstick, just rockets swapped for a crumbling medieval kingdom.

But Slower pace, one continuous story arc instead of Futurama's bouncy, episodic structure.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Jetsons1962no page yet

Futurama was conceived partly as an answer to this show's sunny futurism — same premise, ordinary guy loose in a wondrous future, entirely opposite mood.

The cheerful ancestor Futurama is quietly arguing with — flying cars, robot maids, a future where everything just works. Watching it feels like glimpsing the optimism Futurama gently, lovingly mocks.

But Thin gag-a-week plots with none of the emotional depth or continuity modern viewers expect.

Red Dwarf1988

The scrappy British ancestor: a slob, a hologram, a cat-man and a neurotic android drifting through space on a broken mining ship, mixing bleak philosophy with genuinely daft jokes.

But Cheaper effects and a stagey, very British sitcom feel some find dated.

Bob's Burgers2011

If what hooked you was the found-family warmth under the jokes, this delivers it in spades — a small, weird crew who clearly adore each other despite everything.

But Grounded and domestic, with none of the space-opera scale or sci-fi ideas.

South Park1997

For the same willingness to go anywhere for a joke and land somewhere surprisingly sharp — fast, irreverent, unashamed of its own stupidity.

But Far more topical and provocative, with a crudeness a world away from Futurama's gentler absurdism.

The Orville2017

Live-action instead of animated, but the same idea: a bickering, goofy crew whose episodes swerve from broad comedy into proper science-fiction stakes.

But Plays its Star Trek homage fairly earnestly — less anarchic, more sincere than Futurama.

Solar Opposites2020no page yet

Aliens stranded on Earth, a chaotic makeshift family, and the same rapid-fire joke density — a fun, disposable evening if you want more of that exact comic engine.

But Thinner emotionally, more shock-comedy than character, with less to sit with afterward.

Mystery Science Theater 30001988no page yet

Same structural joke — an ordinary guy marooned with robots, riffing nonstop — but told with puppets and a shoestring budget instead of ink and cel.

A man and two robots stuck in space, riffing on terrible movies — cheap, live-action proof that 'deadpan human plus robot sidekicks plus constant pop-culture jokes' existed long before animation caught up.

But Low-budget, talky, built around movies you've likely never seen — a very particular acquired rhythm.

Cowboy Bebop1998

Strip the punchlines out of Futurama's premise — misfit space crew, found family, loneliness humming under the adventure — and you land on Bebop's tone instead.

Same era, same setup — a ragtag crew doing dirty jobs across a lived-in future solar system — but played almost entirely straight, as melancholy jazz-scored noir instead of comedy.

But Barely any jokes; it's slow, sad, and built for mood rather than laughs.