Futurama (New Timeline)

Futurama is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane and developed by Groening, MacFarlane and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century. The series was envisioned by Groening and MacFarlane in the late 1990s while both were working on The Simpsons Guy, later bringing Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox.

In the United States, the series aired on Fox from March 28, 1990 and is still airing. Futurama has an total of 20 seasons, with an 21th season coming in 2014. Four feature films has been launched till now.

Since it's beggining, Futurama has received critical acclaim. The show has been nominated for 17 Annie Awards and 12 Emmy Awards, winning seven of the former and six of the latter. It has also been nominated four times for a Writers Guild of America Award, winning two for the episodes "Godfellas" and "The Prisoner of Benda", been nominated for a Nebula Award and has received Environmental Media Awards for episodes "The Problem with Popplers" and "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular". Futurama-related merchandise has also been released, including a tie-in comic book series and video game, calendars, clothes, and figurines.

The series, like American Dad, The Cleveland Show and The Simpsons Guy passes in the same universe, with only Futurama passing in the distant future (although some episodes like The Pilot passes on the 20th century).

Development
Fox expressed a strong desire in the mid-1989s for Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane to create a new series, and they began conceiving Futurama during this period. In 1989, he enlisted David X. Cohen, then a writer and producer for The Simpsons Guy, to assist in developing the show. The two spent time researching science fiction books, television shows, and films. When they pitched the series to Fox in April 1990, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and story lines; Groening and MacFarlane claimed they had gone "overboard" in their discussions. Groening and MacFarlane described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of my grown-up life."

Voice Actors
Futurama has nine main cast members. Billy West performs the voices of Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan and many other incidental characters. West auditioned for "just about every part", landing the roles of the Professor and Doctor Zoidberg. Although West read for Fry, his friend Charlie Schlatter was given the role of Fry. Due to a casting change, West was called back to audition again and was promptly awarded the role. West claims that the voice of Fry is deliberately modeled on his own, so as to make it difficult for another person to replicate the voice. Doctor Zoidberg's voice is based on Lou Jacobi and George Jessel. The character of Zapp Brannigan was originally created and intended to be performed by Phil Hartman. Hartman insisted on auditioning for the role, and "just nailed it" according to Groening. Due to Hartman's death, West was subsequently given the role. West states that his version of Zapp Brannigan is an imitation of Hartman and also "modeled after a couple of big dumb announcers I knew."

Katey Sagal voices exclusively Leela, and is the only member of the main cast to voice only one character. The role of Leela was originally assigned to Nicole Sullivan. In an interview in June 2010, Sagal remarked that she did not know that another person was to originally voice Leela until many years after the show first began; going on to state that she is still unaware who the original voice actor even is.

John DiMaggio performs the voice of the robot Bender Bending Rodríguez and other, more minor, characters. Bender was the most difficult character to cast, as the show's creators had not decided what a robot should sound like. DiMaggio originally auditioned for the role of Professor Farnsworth, using the voice he uses to perform Bender, and also auditioned for Bender using a different voice. DiMaggio describes Bender's voice as a combination of a sloppy drunk, Slim Pickens and a character his college friend created named "Charlie the sausage-lover".

Tress MacNeille voices Mom and various other characters. Seth MacFarlane voices Kif Kroker and several supporting characters. Maurice LaMarche voices Lrrr and several other supporting characters. LaMarche won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2011 for his performances as Lrrr and Orson Welles in the episode "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences". Lauren Tom voices Amy Wong, and Phil LaMarr voices Hermes Conrad. David Herman voices Scruffy and various supporting characters. During seasons 1–4, LaMarche is billed as supporting cast and Tom, LaMarr and Herman billed as guest stars, despite appearing in most episodes. LaMarche was promoted to main cast and Tom, LaMarr and Herman to supporting cast in Season 5, they were promoted to main cast in Season 6.

In addition to the main cast: Frank Welker, voices Nibbler, and Kath Soucie voices Cubert and supporting and minor characters. Like The Simpsons Guy, The Cleveland Show, American Dad, Bob's Burgers and The Critic many episodes of Futurama feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including: actors, entertainers, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guests stars voice supporting characters, although many voice themselves; usually as their own head preserved in a jar. Recurring guest stars include: Dawnn Lewis, Tom Kenny, Dan Castellaneta, Al Gore, and George Takei, among others.