As a show that takes place almost entirely in the next millennium, Futurama doesn’t automatically seem like the kind of show that would boast tons of cameos from modern day celebrities, athletes, politicians and scientific geniuses. Yet that’s exactly what the animated sci-fi comedy has delivered with each season that’s aired, even when occasional cancellations kept those seasons airing years apart from each other. And what’s more, quite a few of those guest stars have also popped up in co-creator legend Matt Groening’s other beloved toon series, The Simpsons.
While there are certainly far more celebrities who have only appeared on one show or the other — for instance, relatively frequent Futurama guest star Al Gore was previously tapped to host a “Treehouse of Horror” ep, but it never happened — the number of shared famous faces may be surprising to longtime fans. So let’s pop open a six-pack of Slurm and dive in, while noting right away that the aforementioned Groening isn’t on this list, despite appearing in both shows. Note that we also left out Simpsons regulars Hank Azaria and Dan Castellaneta. (Also note that The Simpsons can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, while all eps of Futurama are available with a Hulu subscription.)
Dick Clark
- Futurama: Season 1 “Space Pilot 3000”
- The Simpsons: Season 11 "Treehouse of Horror X"
True to his real-world persona, the animated Dick Clark was also known in both animated series for hosting New Year's Eve countdowns, though he only did so as a head for Futurama. He suffered a weirder phenomenon on The Simpsons when Y2K hit and turned him into a Terminator-esque cyborg.
Leonard Nimoy
- Futurama: Season 1 “Space Pilot 3000,” Season 4 "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"
- The Simpsons: Season 4 "Marge vs. the Monorail," Season 8 "The Springfield Files"
An icon in the world of science fiction and beyond, Leonardy Nimoy was a welcomed figure on both animated comedies. where he played himself for two episodes of each series. Arguably the best would be Futurama's "Where No Fan..." since it brought in other Star Trek vets as well.
John Goodman
- Futurama: Season 2 “XMas Story”
- The Simpsons: Season 11 "Take My Wife, Sleaze"
Longtime Futurama fans might not remember that Roseanne and The Conners lead John Goodman was the first to voice Robot Santa, with John DiMaggio taking over the role in later seasons. The Big Lebowski vet had a slightly different vibe going when portraying biker gang leader Meathook on The Simpsons.
Conan O'Brien
- Futurama: Season 2 “XMas Story”
- The Simpsons: Season 5 "Bart Gets Famous"
Having served as a writer on The Simpsons ahead of landing NBC's Late Night — he's spoken about his favorite character to write for — talk show maestro Conan O'Brien appeared as himself on both shows, interviewing Bart for his former employer, and appearing in jarheaded form for Futurama. Note that he is one of the only celebs whose head pokes out of the top, which is a joke about the comedian's larger than average dome.
Nichelle Nichols
- Futurama: Season 2 “Anthology Of Interest 1,” Season 4 "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"
- The Simpsons: Season 15 "Simple Simpson"
A beloved member of Star Trek royalty, Nichelle Nichols portrayed herself three times across both shows, always with shows references to fall back on. (Unlike Nichols and other Trek elite, William Shatner turned down the opportunities to appear.)
Stephen Hawking
- Futurama: Season 2 “Anthology Of Interest 1,” “The Beast With A Billion Backs,” Season 6 “Reincarnation”
- The Simpsons: Season 10 "They Saved Lisa's Brain,” Season 16 "Don't Fear the Roofer," Season 18 "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot," Season 22 "Elementary School Musical"
Perhaps it's no surprise that one of TV's brainiest animated shows would repeatedly bring in one of the smartest people who ever lived. Physicist and author Stephen Hawking appeared as himself, perhaps obviously, thrice on Futurama, and is part of the four-timers club on The Simpsons.
Parker Posey
- Futurama: Season 2 “The Deep South”
- The Simpsons: Season 11 "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge"
For Futurama's mermaid-focused Season 2 episode, Parker Posey lent her voice to Umbriel, not to be confused with any other size-specific mermaids out there. Over in Springfield, Posey portrayed Otto's girlfriend Becky in a role that was initially pitched to Drew Barrymore.
Sarah Silverman
- Futurama: Season 2 “The Cryonic Woman,” “Bender’s Big Score,” Season 7 “Game of Tones”
- The Simpsons: Season 21 "Stealing First Base," Season 24 "Moonshine River," Season 26 "Clown in the Dumps," Season 28 "Treehouse of Horror XXVII"
Comedian Sarah Silverman joined the world of Futurama as the recast voice of Fry's not-so-wonderful girlfriend Michelle from the '90s, with three appearances to date. (Kath Soucie voiced her in the pilot.) She was also a romantic interest on The Simpsons for Bart in a pair of eps as Nikki McKenna, while also voicing herself and others in later seasons.
Jan Hooks
- Futurama: Season 3 “Bendless Love”
- The Simpsons: Season 9 "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons," Season 10 "I'm With Cupid," Season 11 "Eight Misbehavin'," "Take My Wife, Sleaze," Season 12 "Bye Bye Nerdie," Season 14 "Large Marge"
Saturday Night Live vet Jan Hooks brought her comedic skills to Futurama as the criminal-loving fembot Angleyne, and while she may have wooed Bender, Hooks technically has had a larger impact on The Simpsons, where she played Apu's wife Manjula across a half-dozen appearances.
Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu was part of a Futurama cameo like few others, in that she voiced various bot-cloned versions of herself, with Fry dating one of them, as well as the "real" Lucy Liu's head in a jar. (Her second episode utilized excess dialogue she'd recorded the previous season.) Over on The Simpsons, she played the adoption agent tasked with deciding whether or not Selma is worthy of parenting a Chinese baby.
Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk tapped into both Saul Goodman and some of his Mr. Show characters to bring the ego-driven Chaz to Futurama as Leela's temporary romantic interest. And in an episode penned by his brother Bill Odenkirk, the Breaking Bad vet portrayed Fat Tony's lawyer (whose character went by that very moniker) for a Simpsons ep.
George Takei
One of the most seasoned guest stars of any Matt Groening series is Star Trek vet George Takei, who portrayed himself mostly in jar-head form for Futurama. While he did play himself for one Simpsons episode, he also voiced Happy Sumo waiter Akira, an unnamed Chinese restaurant waiter, and game show host Wink.
Mark Hamill
Having played one of cinema's most beloved heroes, Star Wars vet Mark Hamill took on voicing a somewhat equally important character for Futurama, at least to a certain segment of the population: holiday mascot Chanukah Zombie. For his single Simpsons ep, Hamill voiced himself at as sci-fi con and the bodyguard-training specialist Leavelle.
Penn & Teller
The most celebrated magical duo in history, Penn Jillette and his largely silent partner Teller appeared on Futurama in their entertainment hub of Las Vegas, or rather New Mars Vegas. (I guess it's up for debate whether Teller actually appeared, considering the state of his head.) On The Simpsons, Homer attempted to create a viral moment by interrupting one of their specials, and returned for a later episode centered on Lisa diving into the world of magic, with fellow illusionists David Copperfield and Ricky Jay also appearing.
Snoop Dogg
Rapper, actor and pop culture mainstay Snoop Dogg achieved his highest ranking yet within Futurama, with his head serving as a Chief Justice alongside the heads of Paula Abdul and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. He also played himself on The Simpsons as part of an all-star rap group Hate Squad alongside Common and Rza.
Patton Oswalt
Comedian Patton Oswalt is no stranger to self-deprecating humor, so perhaps it's fitting that his guest spot on Futurama was as Giant Unattractive Monster, who did not take kindly to Fry's insinuation that his mother's looks were to blame. He was the offspring of Portlandia vets Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's characters' on The Simpsons, voicing their son T-Rex. He returned in a later episode to voice the slime-covered entitye that served as Bart Simpson's Guilt.
Buzz Aldrin
The second person to ever set foot on the moon, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin can also boast a guest spot as a science fair judge on Futurama, in which he delivered an unexpectedly funny joke for someone of such real-life stature. Aldrin also appeared, perhaps unsurprisingly, in the Simpsons episode in which Homer goes to space, and the family's patriarch is actually dubbed a "hero" by Aldrin.
Wanda Sykes
Comedian extraordinaire Wanda Sykes delivered the robotic goods as the soda-dispensing vending machine Bev, who has a love-hate relationship with Bender while also heping to get Fry hooked on Slurm Loco. Sykes' SImpsons spot had her portraying a nameless Springfield Elementary counselor who loses her job in the middle of dispensing advice, and then calls out Milhouse for being boring. Mic drop.
Patrick Stewart
For all his years portraying Jean Luc Picard across the Star Trek universe, Patrick Stewart opted for something slightly less sci-fi for his Futurama appearance as the master of a fox-hunting club that Bender joins, complete with fancy mustache. For The Simpsons, he also went old school as the Stonecutters leader Number One, and later appeared as a bald-but-virile power plant worker whose confidence inspires Homer. (An amusing story for an actor who was initially advised to wear a wig for his Next Generation audition.)
Robert Wagner
Two and a Half Men and NCIS recurrer Robert Wagner's fame is definitely still intact in the 3000s, at least per his guest spot on Futurama, where Calculon's Walk of Fame star is replaced by a second star for Wagner, who shares a few words as an appreciative head in a jar. His Simpsons appearance seemed tailor-made for Troy McClure, as he introduced himself as an "actor, smooth customer and women's health advocate" during an instructional video teaching aging women about menopause. (Barely.)
Adam West & Burt Ward
'60s Batman stars Adam West and Burt Ward paid tribute to their respective roles during a Futurama scene parodying the comic book show's wall-climing cameo sequences, for which West voiced an actual bat-man-thing. He also appeared on The Simpsons as a car show celeb, and later teamed up with Ward for an installment featuring a faux Batman episode with Krusty as the guest star.
Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane and Family Guy are often jokingly portrayed as rivals of Matt Groening and The Simpsons universe, but he's appeared twice on Futurama - once to lay his dulcet tones down for Vegas-esque theme, and once as the dream sequence voice of Fry's dog Seymour, whose martini in hand was a tip of the wet nose to FG's Brian. He also appeared on The Simpsons as a man Marge secretly befriended during a temporary marital rut.
Kathy Griffin
As a celeb who'd previously been "canceled" over controversial photos in 2017, Kathy Griffin was an understandable choice to guest star as one of several ship captains who were sidelined for their behavior, including the titular Zapp Brannigan. She also played something of a problematic character on The Simpsons as the bully Francine, who inspired Lisa to pinpoint the phereomon that causes bullies to antagonize nerds.
With more episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama still to come in the future, the possibility for more shared guest stars is a big one.
