The X Man Talketh: An Interview with Futurama’s David X. Cohen
Volume 7 delivers on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday!

It’s not often that a series can be off the air
for longer than it was on the air and then come back as strong as ever, with
only minor changes. This is the case, however, for Comedy Central’s Futurama, which used to be FOX’s Futurama. One of the people responsible for the show since
day one is David X. Cohen, the developer, executive producer, and head writer.
He was kind enough to talk to us (the full transcript of which is over at Nerdist.com) about the way the show has changed, science he
finds interesting, topical humor and cut musical numbers.
Nerdist News: Futurama is going strong in
its second season after being “Rebirthed.” How has the show changed from last year to this year?
David X. Cohen: Ah, good question. The weirdest thing about this
season, for me, is that there was not a lot of drama coming back from last
season. It’s a situation we are not used to at all here at Futurama. You know, we were on last year and they just said, “We
want some more,” and then we were on this year. We don’t even know how to deal
with that situation! So, the lack of chaos and people quitting and going off to
find work while we’re semi-cancelled has been very surreal for us. So, that’s
been the oddest thing about this new season. We kinda kept going, we got to
keep all of our writers and animators. It was an unheard of smooth transition
from season to season for us.
NN: Do you have any favorite characters to write, or ones you like writing
more than other ones?
DXC: It’s boring to say
Bender, but it is really fun to write for Bender, in the same way that it’s fun
to write for Homer. The character who does what he wants to do at any moment
and he doesn’t just have fantasies; the second he thinks of something he wants
to do he’s doing it and says what he wants to say, that’s your Homer and Bender
and they’re always fun to write for. I always want to give a more creative
answer like, “Hypnotoad!” or “Roberto!” They’re great, but it’s hard to do an A
story, a main story, about those characters. Of the main characters, I think
still Bender. Many of the episodes which are the best episodes are NOT
Bender-centric episodes, like a lot of the Fry/Leela ones which I think are among
our bests and our fan favorites. It’s always this trade-off where you do a
higher degree of difficulty and try to get that emotion in there, which often
works better with Fry and Leela or Fry remembering his past, to have a big pay
off. So, you know, easy and best are not always the same and fun and good-outcome
are not necessarily the same.
For the rest of our interview with the Futurama head honcho, head over to Nerdist.com. The Volume 7 Blu-ray and DVD are out on Tuesday, December 11.