“Futurama” voice actor John DiMaggio has officially signed on to the Hulu revival of the beloved animated sci-fi comedy series, bringing the long and bitter saga known as #Bendergate to a close.
“I’M BACK, BABY! So damn grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike during this whole time (especially my wife, Kate), and I cannot wait to get back to work with my ‘Futurama’ family,” DiMaggio said in a statement. “#Bendergate is officially over, so put it on the back of a shelf behind Xmas decorations, or maybe in that kitchen drawer with all of the other crap you put in there like old unusable crazy glue, or maybe even put it in a jar you save farts in. Whatever floats your boat, I don’t care, you get the picture. I’M BACK, BABY! BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS!”
When the revival was announced in February, fans were dismayed when DiMaggio’s name was not among the list of returning original cast members. DiMaggio thanked the fans for their support, later stating that he felt that he and the rest of the cast deserved to be paid more than what was offered to come back for the show.
Original series cast members Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman are all also returning.
“From the moment John DiMaggio auditioned last century, we knew we had our Bender,” series creator Matt Groening said. “So congrats to everyone at ‘Futurama.’ We’re all back, baby!”
“John DiMaggio may be a great robot, but he’s also a great human being,” “Futurama” executive producer David X. Cohen added. “Not many people or machines can say that. For the fourth time, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to be back with our entire original cast and the phenomenal animators of Rough Draft Studios!”
Hulu has picked up 20 episodes of the new iteration of “Futurama,” which hails from Groening and Cohen. Production is underway and the show is expected to debut in 2023. 20th Television Animation is producing “Futurama” with Rough Draft Studios, Inc. contributing the animation.
“Futurama” focuses on the life of Philip Fry (West), a 25-year-old pizza delivery boy who accidentally freezes himself on December 31, 1999 and wakes up 1,000 years later with a fresh start at life and a new group of friends including Leela (Sagal), a tough but lovely one-eyed mutant, and Bender (DiMaggio), a robot who is fond of drinking excessively, smoking cigars, and stealing anything not nailed down.
This marks the second time the show has been brought back since it originally launched in 1999. After its initial four-season run on Fox, reruns of the show found new life as part of the Adult Swim lineup on Cartoon Network and on DVD. Four direct-to-video films were then produced, which were later re-edited into a fifth season that aired on Comedy Central starting in 2008. Comedy Central would go on to air two more seasons consisting of 26 episodes each between 2010 and 2013.