(Photo: Hulu)

After a decade away from the small screen, Futurama returned to Hulu with its 11th (the eighth production season) last month, but the return was not without hiccups.

Starring John DiMaggio, Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman, the sci-fi comedy series follows a pizza delivery boy who was cryogenically frozen by accident in 2000 and wakes up in 2999.

The series debuted on FOX in 1999 and was cancelled in 2003.  In 2008, Comedy Central revived the show, where it ran until 2013.

When Hulu decided to revive the animated series in 2022, DiMaggio’s name was missing from the long list of returning cast members.  The actor, who plays the popular foul-mouthed robot, Bender, felt that he and the other voice actors should be paid more and didn’t sign on for the revival.

He said, “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.”

Hulu was reportedly ready to make the series without him and were days away from the first table read. The streamer was reportedly planning to use a different guest voice actor each episode for Bender.

Ultimately, DiMaggio agreed to reprise the role. While he did not receive the pay raise he sought, he does feel that he got some respect from his peers and fans for trying. “When you’re David with a sling and you’re standing up to Goliath, you try to do what you can to get your side heard. I think I did,” he said.

In an interview that took place just ahead of the current actors strike, he told Variety, “I didn’t want, nor did my agent want, me standing outside of a house that I should have been having Thanksgiving dinner in. It was just like, okay, I gotta say yes, because I don’t want the demise of the show on my shoulders.’ They were ready to bring in other people.  It was what it was.”

He reflected, “It’s kind of interesting that the strike is happening, because it’s all the stuff that I wanted and was fighting for — not only myself, but everybody else. Now it’s not just me versus them. Now it’s everybody versus them.”

Hulu has not officially renewed the animated series for a 12th season (the ninth production season).

What do you think? Are you a fan of this animated series? Have you been watching the Hulu revival?