‘Futurama’ gets disappointing update after Season 14 finale
‘Futurama’ has survived enough endings to make another finale feel familiar. Its latest episode even announces the joke in its title, 'Final Ending: The Last Conclusion.' But after the Season 14 finale arrived on Hulu on September 28, viewers received a less playful update about what comes next. Hulu currently has no plans to order Season 15, bringing the show’s regular-season run to a close for now.
That does not mean Fry, Leela, and Bender have made their last appearance. Three previously announced “XXXL-Sized” specials are in production for Hulu. The first is a Christmas installment scheduled for 2027, and creator Matt Groening has confirmed that Robot Santa will be part of it. Release dates for the other two specials have not been announced.
The Season 14 finale’s title reflects a problem the creative team has faced repeatedly: writing an ending without knowing whether more episodes will follow. Executive producer David X. Cohen said on 'The Making Of' podcast that the episode was the sixth potential series finale the team has written. With the three specials underway, they are now working on what Cohen calls their seventh potential series finale.
Groening is leaving room for another return. “They can put us in a coffin. They can nail the lid shut, but they can’t bury us. We will rise again. I guess I’m not too worried,” he told Variety. He said the actors, writers, and animators want to make more stories, although no additional season has been ordered. His confidence follows a history of revivals rather than a new commitment from Hulu.
‘Futurama’ premiered on Fox in 1999 and ended its run there in 2003. Comedy Central brought it back in 2008 before its run on that network concluded in 2013. Hulu revived the series in 2023, giving the Planet Express crew four more seasons. The latest finale closes that stretch of regular episodes, while the confirmed specials keep the franchise in production.
Groening has kept the stories for the second and third specials under wraps, but he told Variety they will revisit threads planted early in the series and address questions that have lingered for years. He also said the longer format gives the team more room for each story. For now, the Christmas special is the next confirmed installment; Hulu has not announced a Season 15 or said what will happen after the three specials.