SDCC10 Extra: Matt Groening and David X. Cohen On the Future of ‘Futurama’ and What they Love About Comic-Con

To the relief and delight of fans everywhere, Futurama finally returned to Comedy Central in June, with an anticipated season of 26 new episodes that will air through the rest of 2010 and into 2011. Riding the wave of elation and acclaim (what Comic-Con wouldn’t be complete without the presence of Groening) Matt Groening (Creator) and David X. Cohen (Executive Producer) shared their ideas for the future of Futurama and what they love most about being in San Diego for Comic-Con.

Groening thanked the fans who are devoted to the show and attributed Futurama‘s return to their persistence. He also teased fans with the vague spoiler of two characters kissing in an upcoming episode, but that it will be completely unexpected and the audience won’t see it coming (anyone want to start a betting pool?).

Fans who are patiently waiting for the early seasons of not only Futurama and The Simpsons to be released on Blu-Ray are going to be waiting for a while. There aren’t any current plans for their release, but they will be available on Laser-Disc very soon!

As for the future of the show, Groening stated that back when he was developing the show with David X. Cohen, they made a list of all the things they wanted to write about, and they still haven’t exhausted that list. Additionally, he revealed that there aren’t any current plans to do direct to DVD movies, but that the ultimate goal would be to develop and release a full-length film that will be released in theaters.

Groening is no stranger to Comic-Con. He first started attending back in 1979, when he was trying to sell Xeroxed copies of his comic, Life in Hell. He shared that back then, the underground comics were literally underground, in a basement with wobbly card tables to share your wares, and no one would give him the time of day. He still enjoys coming back to San Diego to see all the different costumes (this year he saw a Dr. Zoidberg that was knit together by the wearer’s sister and a guy in a Bender costume that said “death to all humans”).

“There’s so many stories here,” Groening said. “They might be outcasts in their communities, but they can come here and point fingers at other people dressed up.” Finger pointing aside, Groening appreciated that fans were participating in the creation of something and that he encouraged everyone to “be the best creative you can be.”

Cohen shared that the new season has received solid ratings and reviews and he believes that the new episodes are as good as anything they’ve done thus far. They also just recorded the last of the 26 episodes that Comedy Central ordered, and these episodes will be airing into Summer 2011.

The season finale will be a special treat to fans, as it will be the show’s 100th episode and it will follow Leela as she leads a band of discriminated mutant people out of the sewers in an equal rights fight. The finale will also be a reincarnation of Futurama told in three different styles of animation.

Since there is a fair amount of science that is used on the show, Cohen was asked just how the writers dealt with this issue. He explained that some of the show’s writers have Masters degrees and Ph.D’s, so there’s always a fair amount of accuracy in what is developed. He even shared that there is a whiteboard with a massive scientific equation that they have jokingly threatened to put a small part of that equation onto the show to see who is paying attention and if they could actually solve it (Futurama fans, keep your eyes peeled!).

With that much attention to detail, it’s no wonder that fans have been able to catch pieces of continuity in the show. Cohen confirmed that this was no accident. Writers do sprinkle in moments as a reward to fans who are as committed to the show as they are.

Futurama airs on Thursdays on Comedy Central.