Futurama (season 8)
The eighth season of Futurama is set to consist of 20 episodes split equally across two released parts. It premiered on Hulu in the United States on July 24, 2023. Although the seventh season was intended as the final season, having concluded in September 2013, Hulu greenlit the eighth season in February 2022. All of the main voice cast returned, including John DiMaggio, after he spent a month in negotiations to sign a new deal with Hulu. This season has alternatively been titled the eighth season (production), and the eleventh season (broadcast). This list follows the previous season box sets, which feature the episodes in the original, intended production season order, ignoring the order of broadcast. Episodes

Cast and characters

Regular
 Billy West as Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Richard Nixon's Head, Smitty, Judge Ron Whitey
 Katey Sagal as Turanga Leela
 John DiMaggio as Bender, Elzar, Joey Mousepad, Igner, Robot Santa, Sal
 Tress MacNeille as Mom, Monique, Linda, The Grand Midwife, Petunia, Tinny Tim, Turanga Munda, Leela's Grandmother, Hattie McDoogal, Ndnd, Gypsy-Bot
 Maurice LaMarche as Kif Kroker, Morbo, H.G. Blob, Calculon, Donbot, Clamps, The Borax Kid, Walt, The Crushinator, Axl Kroker, Lrrr, Headless Clone of Agnew, The Hyperchicken, Hedonismbot
 Lauren Tom as Amy Wong, Inez Wong, Jrrr, Newt Kroker, Mandy Kroker
 Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad, Dwight Conrad, Reverend Preacherbot
 David Herman as Scruffy, Roberto, Larry, Turanga Morris, Mayor Poopenmeyer, Dr. Ogden Wernstrom, Dr. Banjo

Recurring
 Feodor Chin as Leo Wong, Scoop Chang
 Dawnn Lewis as LaBarbara Conrad
 Kevin Michael Richardson as URL, Barbados Slim
 Kath Soucie as Cubert Farnsworth
 Frank Welker as Nibbler, various animals

Special guest stars
 Dan Castellaneta as the Robot Devil
 Cara Delevingne as Makeup Robot 
 Ego Nwodim as Dung Beetle Shaman
 Kyle MacLachlan as Dung Beetle Majordomo
 Al Gore as himself
 Coolio as Kwanzaabot
 Mark Hamill as Chanukah Zombie
 Bill Nye as himself
 Kathy Griffin as Captain Cranky

Production

Development 
In February 2022, Hulu revived the series with a 20-episode order expected to premiere in 2023. In August 2022, the titles of the first 10 episodes were announced by Hulu, and by November 2022, the production team was aiming to complete the episodes by the end of the year. Casting 
At the time of the announcement the majority of the main voice cast was set to return, while John DiMaggio was still in negotiations. DiMaggio stated that he had not accepted the role in mid-February 2022 as he believed the entire cast of Futurama should be paid more. He stated, "Bender is part of my soul and nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my Futurama family. It's about self-respect. And honestly, [it's about] being tired of an industry that's become far too corporate and takes advantage of artists' time and talent... I wish I could give you every detail so you would understand, but it's not my place." In March, DiMaggio officially rejoined the series after working out a new deal, calling the prior events "Bendergate". He later revealed that he did not get a raise, "but what I did get was a lot of respect". Had he not returned, Bender would have been voiced by a different guest star each episode. Similar to other animation recastings after the murder of George Floyd, several non-white characters originally voiced by white actors have been recast. Amy Wong's father, Leo Wong, originally voiced by West, is now being voiced by Feodor Chin. The robot cop URL, who is not explicitly Black but whose voice was inspired by deep-voiced Black soul singers such as Barry White and Isaac Hayes, originally voiced by DiMaggio, is now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. Richardson also replaced DiMaggio as Barbados Slim and Chin also voices the reporter Scoop Chang, originally voiced by David Herman and Maurice LaMarche. Rapper Coolio, who provided his voice for Kwanzaa-Bot in three previous episodes, died on September 28, 2022. Two days after his death, it was confirmed that Coolio had recorded another episode as Kwanzaa-Bot before his death. When the series was released, this episode was revealed as the sixth episode "I Know What You Did Next Xmas", which was dedicated in his memory. Release 
In February 2023, a release window was set sometime around the mid-2023 season. On May 18, 2023, Hulu announced that the season would premiere on July 24, 2023. Hulu's sister streaming service, Disney+ announced, via a press release, that it would also stream the new season of Futurama internationally as a Star Original Disney+ later announced that the season would premiere new episodes around the world simultaneously with Hulu in the United States. Reception

Audience viewership 
Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, reported that Futurama had the second most in-demand United States series premiere in the second quarter of 2023. It had 50.2 times the average demand of all other series in the U.S. during the week of June 24–30, 2023. According to Whip Media's viewership tracking app TV Time, Futurama was the fifth-most streamed original series across all platforms in the U.S. during the week of July 30, 2023, and during the week of August 6, the fourth during the week of August 13, the third during the week of August 20, and the fourth during the week of August 27, and during the week of September 3. Critical response 
 Metacritic gave the season a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 13 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Notes

References 

 
2023 American television seasons
8
Split television seasons