Futurama returns but original cast might not

Brand new episodes of the Fox animated sci-fi sitcom, "Futurama," will begin airing on Comedy Central, but the original voice cast might not return along with the show.

According to an article on Variety.com, "Talks have broken down between 20th Century Fox TV and stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche and Tress MacNeille over how much they should be paid to take part in the show."

Last month, the studio announced that it would produce 26 new episodes of "Futurama" with Comedy Central airing them in mid-2010. The announcement also said that the original cast of the show would be returning as well. Unfortunately, this turned out to be false.

The Variety.com article elaborates with, "The stars had all expressed interest in returning. But with the budget for 'Futurama' dramatically slashed, the salary offers came in well below what the thesps were asking. As a result, 20th has put out a casting call to find replacement voice actors for the show."

A similar situation also occurred with the cancelled Fox/20th TV animated series, "Family Guy." "Guy's" restoration included the return of the show's orignial voice cast but their salaries were approximately what they were paid when "Guy" aired on Fox from 1999 to 2002.

Yet, an article on HollywoodReporter.com said, "However, on 'Family Guy,' creator Seth MacFarlane voices the key characters, while the entire cast of 'Futurama,' like that of 'The Simpsons,' consists of outside actors."

It seems that the co-creator of "Futurama," Matt Groening, who also created another one of Fox's hit shows, "The Simpsons," is no stranger to voice cast standoffs. With that series, Groening endured grueling negotiations with the actors before an agreement was finally reached.

The issue of recasting the show's actors is expected to be addressed at the upcoming Comic-Con during the "Futurama" panel that 20th TV will hold. Both Groening and Cohen [co-creator with Groening on "The Simpsons"] will be in attendance.