Futurama season 11 trailer Easter eggs: Dune parody and Hulu jokes

Futurama season 11 poster
(Image credit: Courtesy of Hulu)

The crew of Planet Express is back, as Futurama season 11 is coming exclusively to Hulu on July 24, 10 years after the last season of the animated series aired on Comedy Central. Getting fans ready for the new batch of episodes is the Futurama season 11 trailer, which fans of the show probably aren't surprised by features a number of funny easter eggs to spot.

Futurama was created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and follows Philip J. Fry, a man from the 1990s accidentally frozen and then awakened in the 31st century. Joining a delivery company, he now lives his life in the future and gets into wild adventures with his friends and crew. The original voice cast is all returning for the new season, including Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Phil LaMarr and more.

Watch the trailer for Futurama season 11 right here, then read on to see if you spotted some of our favorite Easter eggs included in it.

Fulu 

Promo image for Futurama season 8 on Hulu

(Image credit: Hulu)

It should probably come as no surprise that Futurama is going to make a joke or two at the expense of its new home, Hulu. They waste no time doing so in the trailer, as our first image is of the Planet Express ship landing outside a big office with a sign that reads "Fulu" in the well known Hulu style.

But that's not what caught our eye. If you look in the top right corner when he see the office building you'll see a sign that reads "Monthly Office Space: $1299 ($699 With Commercials)." This is a clever nod to Hulu's subscription options, which offer an ad-free plan that is $12.99 and an ad-supported plan that costs $7.99 per month. The ad-supported plan was previously $6.99 per month as recently as October 2022.

Explovid-23

Futurama season 11 rally

(Image credit: Courtesy of Hulu)

Futurama would often take issues that were occurring in the real world and apply them to its future timeline, so it was practically a guarantee that they would at least acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic. The trailer revealed they are indeed, with a newscast reporting on a virus called "Explovid-23." However, like the Hulu joke, the best bit about it requires a slightly more discerning eye.

As they're talking about the virus, we see a gathering with people standing in front of a stage. Over the stage is a banner that reads "Back to Normal Fest," but the joke is that it originally said 2021, but that was crossed out, then 2547, which was also crossed out, and now 3023. I'm sure we can all relate to the idea of the starts and stops of life returning to normal over the last few years.

Dune sandworms

Futurama season 11 Fry, Bender, sand worm

(Image credit: Courtesy of Hulu)

Futurama is a sci-fi comedy, so no surprise it is going to poke fun at one of the biggest sci-fi entities of the last few years, the Dune movies (Dune: Part One and the upcoming Dune: Part Two. We don’t get any kind of specific joke, but we see Fry, Bender and Leela all running from whatever Futurama's version of a sandworm is going to be called (can't wait to hear what fun name they give it). 

Hulurama

Futurama title card

(Image credit: Courtesy of Hulu)

Before the trailer ends, Futurama gets one more fun little rib at its new streaming home with its famous title card. As the Planet Express ship flies across the screen and reveals the title, the letters spin. Before they set into place and read Futurama, it is pretty clear that a couple of letters are switched out so it reads "Hulurama," if just for a split second.

Futurama season 11 debuts on Hulu on July 24. The streaming service also has all 10 seasons of the animated series available to watch right now. Check out what else you can watch with our summer TV guide.

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Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.