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

4.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy sitcom banter where the jokes come thick and fast, a grumpy robot steals every scene, and the sci-fi is loony, affectionate and happy to be silly, much like Rick and Morty without the nihilistic edge.

Skip it if you want a show that keeps one story going across episodes, since the format is mostly self-contained adventures and the lore tends to get shrugged off for the next gag.

What it asks of you: Each episode runs about half an hour and asks you to keep up with rapid-fire jokes and a large cast of oddballs, rewarding attention without ever demanding you binge in order.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

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.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Futurama

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Jetsons1962

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 Opposites2020

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 30001988

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.