TV SERIES · 1999–present · USA
Futurama
- Created by
- Matt Groening
- Network
- FOX, Comedy Central, Hulu
- Seasons
- 11
- Episodes
- 164
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox Television, The Curiosity Company, 20th Television Animation
47 archived facts 5 topics 3 sources Last reviewed Sep 2026
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.
Summary: TMDB
Futurama: 14 Facts About the Characters and Cast
- #026
Futurama has eight main cast members, among them Billy West, who voiced Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan and numerous incidental characters.
- #027
Billy West auditioned for "just about every part" on Futurama and won the roles of Professor Farnsworth and Doctor Zoidberg. He also read for Fry, but his friend Charlie Schlatter was initially cast in that role; a casting change brought West back to audition, and he was then given the part.
- #028
According to Billy West, the voice of Fry was deliberately modeled on his own so that another performer would find it difficult to replicate. West based Doctor Zoidberg's voice on Lou Jacobi and George Jessel.
- #029
Zapp Brannigan was originally created for Phil Hartman, who insisted on auditioning and, according to Matt Groening, "just nailed it"; after Hartman's death, Billy West took the role. West said his version of Zapp Brannigan imitated Hartman and was also modeled after big dumb announcers he knew.
- #030
Katey Sagal voiced Leela in Futurama and is the only member of the main cast to voice just one character.
- #031
The role of Leela in Futurama was originally assigned to Nicole Sullivan.
- #032
In a June 2010 interview, Katey Sagal said she did not learn until many years after Futurama began that another person had originally been set to voice Leela.
- #033
John DiMaggio voiced the robot Bender Bending Rodríguez in Futurama, as well as other, more minor, characters.
- #034
Bender was the most difficult character to cast in Futurama, because the show's creators had not decided what a robot should sound like.
- #035
Phil LaMarr provides the voices of Hermes Conrad, Hermes's son Dwight, Ethan Bubblegum Tate and Reverend Preacherbot in Futurama.
- #036
Frank Welker provided the voice of Nibbler, while Kath Soucie voiced Cubert and other supporting and minor characters in Futurama.
- #037
Futurama, like The Simpsons, featured guest voices from many professions, including actors, entertainers, bands, musicians, and scientists; recurring guest stars included Tom Kenny, Dan Castellaneta, Dawnn Lewis, Nicole St. John, Al Gore, Phil Hendrie, Coolio, and George Takei.
- #038
Bumper Robinson was a cast member of Futurama, playing Hermes' son Dwight, but left after season 4, and Phil LaMarr took over the role.
- #039
John Goodman was intended to reprise Robot Santa after "Xmas Story" but could not due to scheduling problems, so John DiMaggio took over the role starting with "A Tale of Two Santas"; in that same episode, Dan Castellaneta was unable to reprise the Robot Devil due to his work on The Simpsons, and Maurice LaMarche took over that role for that episode only.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Futurama — Wikipedia
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