Groening savages TV execs

Simpsons creator Matt Groening has blasted the TV executives who axed his follow-up show Futurama.

America's Fox network has pulled the plug on the animated sci-fi comedy, even with a number of episodes yet to be screened.

In an interview with Canada's Calgary Sun, Groening railed: "The people at Fox didn't ever support the show and it wasn't to their taste and, in my opinion, they're out of their minds.

"But they don't like The Simpsons either. The idea of a TV show that they haven't gotten their greasy fingers all over creatively drives them nuts. That's why almost everything else is so lousy.

"The groundbreaking shows, the ones that cause the most intense reaction, are not the result of too many cooks. It's a strong, creator-driven vision.

"Futurama fans delivered a petition with 130,000 signatures and there was no reaction from Fox.

"We won the Emmy for best animated show and I didn't even get a begrudging phone call from anyone at Fox. That's a dark company that they can't even make a fake phone call."

To buy Futurama's entire Series Two on DVD

Published: 19 Mar 2003