Though Futurama is fantastic and it has seen a huge cult following since it got cancelled, the sci-fi animated sitcom has had a rough history, and it never quite reached the success of its older brother, The Simpsons. The series changed networks on several occasions to avoid getting the plug pulled completely, and why it didn’t find an audience at the time is a mystery, as it’s just as creative as The Simpsons, if not more so.
And just like how The Simpsons has a huge roster of original and unique recurring characters, Futurama is no different. In fact, Futurama’s supporting characters are possibly the best thing about the entire show, and along with the main rones, the animated series has one of the most strangest and mindbending casts ever. And as Futurama is so dearly missed, there are are ton of other characters’ backstories that could be delved into and would make some incredible spin-offs.
Robot Devil
The devil has probably been depicted on screen more than anything else in the world, whether it’s in human form by Al Pacino or Dave Grohl covered in prosthetics in Tenacious D. But for the most part, those depictions are all fairly similar, being that they’re all wholly evil, manipulative, and massive.
However, Futurama’s robot devil is slender, plays the fidle, and loves show tunes. The devil’s own show could even be a musical considering there are so few musical numbers in the show, especially compared to Futurama’s older brother The Simpsons.
Zapp Brannigan
Being a parody of Captain Kirk, the self conscious skirt-chasing Zapp Brannigan, is a lead character stuck in a supporting role if there ever was one. The whole show would basically be a complete parody of Star Trek, and not just any Star Trek, but the Original Series.
Even though The Original Series borders on self parody as it is, seeing Zapp and Flik venture through the final frontier and bumping into aliens and maybe other characters from Futurama along the way would be so much fun, and it could be filled to the brim with fan service. And though Seth MacFarlane jumped at this idea with the live action series The Orville, it’s not quite as iconic as Brannigan and company.
Calculon
Calculon is one of the best supporting robot characters, and just like Zap Brannigan, the it was born to star in his own show. The robot is almost wasted as a recurring character, but that’s just a testament to how much depth the writers put in to the character’s backstory.
Calculon, just like Wolfcastle in The Simpsons, is the universe’s movie star, and as actors go through many trials and tribulations, more so than almost any other career choice, Calculon’s career would make a great fly on the wall like mockumentary.
URL & Smitty
The world of tomorrow is one of the ways Futurama is better than The Simpsons, and the way robots and humans get along with each other is part of the appeal of the show. And that’s no clearer than with URL and Smitty. There’s so much to explore with these minor characters, as the two police officers have a great rapport despite being completely different.
They’re almost like if Fry and Bender were law enforcement officers, as URL is the cool smooth talking robot, and Smitty is the bumbling geeky human. The two may have also been in a relationship, considering how Smitty got jealous when URL illegally searched Bender.
Scruffy
Scruffy is one of the most mysterious characters of Futurama, as for the longest time the Planet Express character didn’t actually have any lines of dialogue. But it later came to light that the introverted character actually owns most of the shares in the company.
Why he remains the janitor despite owning most of the company is curious and needs more backstory, and given how there’s so much wisdom and sadness behind his eyes, there’s something to be explored there.
Mom
Being a billionaire and having her face stamped on every product that citizens of New New York can find in the grocery story, Mom essentially is the economy in Futurama. But if movies and TV have taught us anything, it’s that behind the face of every capitalist conglomerate is somebody truly evil, and Mom is one of the best cartoon villains there has ever been.
Fans have seen flashbacks of when she was younger, including when she dated Prof. Farnsworth, but how she grew to become the Margaret Thatcher of the entire planet, and seeing the inner workings of her company would be riveting. Futurama would have its very own Iron Lady in-universe.
The Mutants
As it isn’t New York the show is set in, but New New York, the original New York was paved over and is now located hundreds of feet underground, and mutants use it as their place of refuge.
There is a whole cast of interesting mutants who have never gotten much screen time, from mutants with eight eyes to mutated spiders, and whenever they crop up they have their own fascinating stories. It’d be great to see a whole spin-off set in Old New York and the way of life down there.
Prof. Farnsworth
Professor Farnsworth might be a bit old to get his own spin-off, as the mad scientist is 160 years old, but a spin-off could focus on his early years and what made him so amoral and deranged in the first place.
There are a few things that fans know about Farnsworth’s history, such as the fact that he’s the grandson of Fry, 31 times removed, and that he was once in a relationship with Mom, but the rest is a mystery. Fans want to see exactly how Farnsworth became obsessed with building doomsday devices and sending his friends, including his great grandfather, on suicide missions.
Bender
It’s no secret that most fans’ favorite character is Bender, as the cigar smoking, foul-mouthed robot speaks his mind at every occasion and comes up with most of the show’s best insults.
As sitcoms are becoming more and more depraved and nihilistic with shows like Rick and Morty, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bender’s own show without all of the emotional characters in Planet Express would fit right in with the sitcoms of today. It might be a little strange not seeing Fry by the robot’s side, but it has portential to be equally hilarious and offensive.
Slurms MacKenzie
When it comes to any drink brand, whether it’s energy drinks or alcohol, all it takes is a great marketing campaign to be successful no matter how bad it is. And just like Duffman in The Simpsons, Slurm has Slurms MacKenzie, a mascot for the drink who has to party all night, every night or else he’ll be fired.
There’s probably a lot of stuff that goes on at those parties, and given how exhausted Slurms seems to be behind closed doors, it’d make for a fantastically weird comedy drama.
