Futurama’s Betrayal of Humor: How AI-Generated Nonsense Hijacked the Future

NFTs have finally achieved the level of absurdity they always deserved, and Futurama has decided to milk this cash-grab for all it’s worth. The show’s new season is literally begging for relevance by indulging in the most cringe-worthy, self-serving celebration of digital collectibles.

Set in the far-off future, Futurama has always prided itself on commenting on modern life, but let’s be real, the show’s current obsession with NFTs reeks of desperation. It’s an attempt to cling to the fleeting interests of the masses, rather than genuinely satirizing the societal ills of our time.

The debut episode tries to pass off a convoluted plot involving Bender selling a CryptoPunks-style collection as some sort of ingenious commentary on the digital art scene. Newsflash: it’s not. The episode is an excruciating exercise in explaining a concept that’s already overhyped, with nary a wit or insight to be found.

And yet, the show’s writers seem more concerned with cashing in on NFT mania than engaging with the actual themes and issues at play. It’s a shallow attempt to stay relevant, rather than harnessing the power of satire to spark meaningful conversation.

Meanwhile, some of the other episodes fare better, but only because they’re willfully ignorant of the show’s own strengths. The Squid Game parody is a mess, the fast-fashion episode is a shallow exercise in style-over-substance, and the AI-themed episode is a lazy rehashing of familiar tropes.

At its best, Futurama was a show that used its sci-fi setting to subvert and satirize our expectations of modern society. This new season is a laughable attempt to do the opposite: to cling to the fleeting trends and fleeting relevance of the present moment, while sacrificing its own integrity and artistic merit in the process.

Futurama season 12 starts streaming on Hulu on July 29th. Buckle up for a wild ride of NFT nonsense and shallow pandering.