DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
"Futurama" will awaken from suspended animation, much like its
lead character, after strong DVD sales and ratings for reruns
convinced 20th Century Fox Television and Comedy Central to
resurrect the long-canceled cartoon series.
The series, created by "The Simpsons" mastermind Matt Groening
and David X. Cohen, was shown in the Fox television network's
Sunday animation block from 1999 until 2003, following the
adventures of pizza delivery boy Phillip J. Fry after he awakens
from a 1,000-year frozen slumber. Viacom Corp. (VIA) unit Comedy
Central acquired the rights to the 72 existing episodes of the
series in 2006 and began showing them in 2008.
Those showings, along with four recently produced
extended-length shows, have garnered strong ratings for the cable
network. The series' fans have also snapped up the four movies in
DVD release.
"We're thrilled 'Futurama' is coming back. We now have only
25,766 episodes to make before we catch up with Bender and Fry in
the year 3000," Matt Groening said.
20th Century Fox, like Dow Jones & Co. a News Corp. (NWS)
unit, will bring new episodes to Comedy Central in the middle of
next year. Under the deal, Fox will retain the option to license
the original runs of the new episodes to a broadcast network.
The deal marks the latest collaboration between the two
companies, which brought back Seth MacFarlane's popular "Family
Guy" series several years back after fans clamored for its
return.
-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2331;
jay.miller@dowjones.com