Lower Decks

It looks like the Futurama will-they-sign-a-new-deal-or-won’t-they drama has finally come to a close. According to The Toronto Star the original voice cast and 20th Century Fox TV have signed a brand spanking new contract that will see the likes of John DiMaggio, Billy West and Katey Sagal returning to the roles of Fry, Leela, Bender and others. Actually, the article notes that only two members of the cast have signed but suggests rest likely will before “the end of the day.”

Uh-oh. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox TV hasn’t been able to reach an agreement with the talented men and women who provide the voices for Futurama. Apparently they wanted ten times what they made during the production of the first run of episodes, seen on FOX between 1999 and 2003. The company seems confident they can replace the voice actors or, and this is pure conjecture, they’re confident that announcing they can replace the voice actors will help negotiations.

Either way, the new episodes announced in June are still projected to premiere on cable channel Comedy Central sometime in 2010. Will anyone want to watch Futurama without John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Billy West, Tress MacNeille and Katey Sagal as Fry, Leela, Bender, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Hermes, Amy and Zapp Brannigan?

Variety reports that 26 new episodes of Futurama will be produced by 20th Century Fox TV and aired on Comedy Central in mid-2010. Recall that the animated sitcom originally ran on FOX from 1999 to 2003 and released four direct-to-DVD movies between 2007 and 2009. Three of those movies were edited into individual episodes and aired on Comedy Central; the fourth will presumably air later this year.

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