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It's a conundrum worthy of Professor Farnsworth himself: How did Futurama blossom into a cable and DVD smash after a bumpy five-season run on Fox? Executive producer David X. Cohen credits the show's dedicated fan base, as well as a consistent time slot. As part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup, Futurama averaged 2.2 million viewers in June, a huge number for cable (the series is scheduled to return on Nov. 2). It's also doing well in afternoon reruns on TBS. Then there are the DVDs. The box set of Futurama's first season was released in March, and it sold so well that Season Two was rushed into stores this week. Cohen spoke with TV Guide Online about the show's newfound success, its future and what fans can look for on upcoming DVD releases.


TVGO: It must be gratifying to see how well Futurama is performing on cable.
DC: Incredibly so. We could not be happier with how it's doing on Cartoon Network and also how well Cartoon Network has treated us. I think they actually had a plan for the show — unlike Fox — and were able to carry it out in terms of promoting it and keeping it on at a regular time slot where people know where it was. Over the summer, I've noticed that Futurama has frequently made it into the top 10 shows for teen viewers. I think we came in ninth place twice in the past few weeks on just a random rerun at 11 pm on Cartoon Network. And this is including broadcast TV. It's astounding what a little promotion and regular airing will do for you. Maybe Fox is feeling a twang of remorse. Hopefully.

TVGO: So scheduling was the biggest problem at Fox?
DC: On Fox, I think a lot of the problem was that the people making the decisions were not personally fans of the show. And that made it harder to know what to do with it. I think the ultimate comment on Fox's view of the show is pretty much summed up by it's own slogan, which was running for years while we were on 7 pm/ET on Sundays. They were using the slogan: "It all begins Sunday at 8." Every week we'd have to see these promos saying that it all began Sunday at 8 and we were on at 7.

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Originally posted by TragicStory:
But don't get me wrong, I LOVE THE FACT THAT THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS FOX DROPPED THE SOAP!

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