'Futurama' Episodes In the Works

Just when fans thought Fry and the rest of the Planet Express had gone to that interplanetary time warp in the sky, they're back--courtesy of 20th Century Fox and Comedy Central.

According to Daily Variety, the prodution studio and the cable network are in talks to produce new episodes of the series under the terms of a deal brokered in 2007--the first since the show was canceled in 2003.

Included in the contract are options to run original episodes on Futurama's former home Fox. That would cut into Comedy Central's license fee. But the network doesn't mind.

The move reunites cast members Katey Segal and Phil DiMaggio, who played star-struck lovers Phillip J. Fry and Turanga Leela, as well as minor actors from the series.

It is not the first time a Fox animated series has been canceled only to return on another network. "Family Guy" was canceled twice, in 2000 and 2002, only to surge in popularity on Adult Swim and in numerous straight-to-DVD videos. The series was picked up by Fox again in 2004.

Rather than canceling "Futurama" outright, Fox simply let the episodes cease airing, or airing episodes out of order. This became a problem for the show's creators, "Simpsons" producer Matt Groening and David X. Cohen.

New "Futurama" episodes begin airing in mid-2010.