At Comic-Con '07 it was announced that Futurama would be returning in the form of 4 straight-to-DVD movies to be split into half-hour episodes for air on Comedy Central. On March 23, 2008, the first of the four films, Bender's Big Score, began airing. Subsequent installments reportedly include The Beast with a Billion Backs, Into the Wild Green Yonder and Bender's Game.

According to interviews with Futurama and Simpsons creator Matt Groening, an ongoing online campaign by Futurama fans was partly responsible for the program's comeback. Groening also attributes the return to the series' steady DVD sales, noting that DVD sales were responsible for the return to TV of Family Guy as well.