Futurama update

Futurama cast members ink new deal with Fox

Jul 31, 2009 11:31 PM

LOS ANGELES–The Star has learned exclusively that the entire voice cast of Futurama has just signed a new contract with Fox after weeks of intense salary negotiations.

As late as last week, the network was threatening to replace the original voices of Matt Groening's cult-hit cartoon, to the point of actually announcing a casting call for voice actors to replace them.
The Futurama voice cast includes John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Billy West, Tress MacNeille and Katey Sagal.

The compromise agreement, with the studio paying more and the actors accepting less, comes after the announcement of a 26-episode pick-up here by Comedy Central. Futurama also airs internationally in syndication, has produced four bestselling straight-to-DVD movies (later cut into episodes) and an upcoming feature film.

"We are thrilled to have our incredible cast back. The call has already `gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters," Futurama creators Groening and David X. Cohen said in a joint statement.