Netflix has a vast library of TV shows, ranging from comedies to dramas to originals, and the streaming service is adding new series all the time. Unfortunately, Netflix also removes series periodically, with legendary sci-fi shows Firefly and The X-Files getting kicked off earlier this year. Now, another show is losing a lot of the episodes currently available on Netflix. A number of seasons of Futurama will be gone from the streaming service in the very near future.
As it turns out, Netflix users were the first to notice that Futurama was no longer going to be available sooner rather than later. If you begin to watch one of the episodes of the first six seasons, a small message pops up that reads "This season is available until July 1." As there hadn't been any big announcement about Futurama leaving Netflix and the messages actually aren't too easy to spot, we couldn't be entirely sure that the show would really be gone in July. Now, sadly, Netflix has confirmed to CinemaBlend that Seasons 1-6 of Futurama will only be available until July 1. Where's Bender and his robot army when we need him?
The good news is that the loss of the first six seasons doesn't mean that there will be no more Futurama at all. Seasons 7-10 will still be available, which is distinctly better than nothing. Interestingly, Season 7 is the point at which new episodes of Futurama began airing on Comedy Central rather than original network Fox. The removal of Seasons 1-6 indicates that a deal between Netflix and Fox may have expired and/or fallen through, while a deal with Comedy Central is still intact.
Rumor has it (courtesy of one Reddit user) that Fox pulled its license from Netflix, which would include a number of series, including Futurama. We can't confirm at this point if Fox did indeed pull its license and therefore yank the show starting July 1, but it would make sense given that Seasons 7-10 will remain as streaming options for subscribers.
As much of a bummer as this news is, at least we still have more than a week to watch the greatest hits of Seasons 1-6. In fact, true binge-watchers could rewatch the entire first six seasons from start to finish by July 1 if they really commit themselves. Who knows? Maybe we'll get super lucky and Futurama will get a last minute save or return to Netflix sooner rather than later. We had a number of false alarms with Scrubs until it was finally booted from Netflix, and Battlestar Galactica has been off and on throughout the years. Perhaps Futurama won't be gone from Netflix forever. We can only cross our fingers and hope.
Check out our 2017 Netflix premiere schedule for a look at what you can watch once you're done revisiting the early years of Futurama. If you're looking to boycott the streaming service in protest, our summer TV premiere guide can point you in the right direction.
