Futurama's latest season delves into the world of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, a concept that may not have crossed most people's minds in quite some time. Despite its futuristic setting, Futurama has always managed to cleverly comment on modern life. It has tackled topics such as smartphones and 3D printers using sci-fi absurdity to add humor. This trend continued throughout the show's run, with occasional interruptions due to cancellations. However, during its revival on Hulu last year, the show struggled to strike the right balance, with its timely jokes sometimes overshadowing its sci-fi comedy. The upcoming 12th season faces even greater difficulty in finding a Futurama-esque twist in handling absurd storylines about NFTs and AI. Consequently, the season feels uneven, lacking the originality that made the show so special. The episode focusing on NFTs is the most glaring example of this struggle, exacerbating the issue due to its prominent positioning as the season opener. The convoluted plot involves Bender selling a collection similar to CryptoPunks, leading him on a quest to uncover his origins in Mexico. Meanwhile, the rest of the Planet Express crew attempts to steal Bender's NFT collection from an art museum, only to face challenges posed by the intricacies of the blockchain and digital ledgers. The problem lies in the fact that these NFTs aren't given a unique Futurama twist; they are presented as regular NFTs, complete with poor artwork and a digital receipt. The episode dedicates a significant portion of its runtime to explaining the concept, which, to be fair, is not easy to summarize concisely. However, it fails to deliver many jokes or insightful commentary, relying solely on the assumption that NFTs themselves are inherently amusing. Over a decade ago, when we believed Futurama had truly come to an end, Executive Producer and Head Writer David X.

Cohen explained to me how the show successfully incorporated contemporary issues into its retrofuturistic world. He said, "We always appreciate it when the real world gives us ideas for episodes. . . Setting the show 1, 000 years in the future does not mean you're exempt from commenting on today's society; it just adds a degree of separation. " The NFT episode demonstrates the significance of this "degree of separation. " Without it, the episode becomes a collection of dull, outdated jokes. Having seen the first six episodes of the season (with a total of 10), things do improve slightly later on. There is a spoof on Squid Game that explores Fry's childhood through a bizarre form of time travel, as well as an episode on fast fashion that transforms Cara Delevingne into Frankenstein's monster, with the professor becoming a style icon. While these examples may not represent Futurama at its best, they do recognize the show's original premise of using this eccentric future to exaggerate contemporary issues. This is less evident in the least original episode of the season, where an AI chatbot becomes Leela's jealous friend, embodying various tropes from AI movies in just 20 minutes of animation. As Futurama already features numerous sentient robots, it feels odd to address AI as something new. Perhaps the later episodes will showcase more heart and wit, as Hulu promises, by exploring "the next chapter in Fry and Leela's fateful, time-twisted romance. " However, based on what I've seen, the show's balance is heavily skewed. Excessive focus on being timely detracts from the series' unique humor, beloved characters, and warmth that were instrumental to its previous success. Futurama, like the rest of the world, should have left NFTs in the past.