The penultimate episode of this year’s Futurama half-season brings us the traditional Anthology-style episode, a trio of non-canon stories in different styles. This time it’s centered around books and reading and so The Futurama Mystery Liberry is presented by none other than LeVar Burton – not necessarily in his Star Trek persona, but as the long time real-life host of Reading Rainbow, the PBS children’s book show. Written by newcomer Jeanette Lim and Futurama veterans David X. Cohen and Patric Verrone, this is one of the most fun episodes of the season. While two of the parodied book series are largely unknown in Europe, they are still fun to watch and sucessfully combine a nostalgic feeling with a little science-fiction.

Futurama always seemed to have its hits and misses, but the 2024 season has been surprisingly strong and continues with great episodes. Cuteness Overlord marks the return of Kirstin Gore as screenwriter after over 20 years – she wrote the classic Leelas’s Homeworld from Season 4 and now comes back with another family-focused story. But this time it’s not about Leela but a new household that has been introduced recently – the Wong-Krokers with their three children. It’s also the first Amy episode for a long time and has a lot of fun parodying a certain toy collecting craze from a long time ago.

We are now in the final stretch of four episodes of this year’s Futurama season and it’s time for the return of Bureaucrat Grade 35, Hermes Conrad. The story created by veteran series writer Bill Odenkirk, who also wrote Hermes’ first big outing 24 years ago, delves deep into the character’s previously unwritten family history and combines it with the love for coffee that has always been in the background of the Futurama universe. Three Hundred Big Boys once saw Fry drink 100 cups of coffee, but Planet Espresso goes much further than that, telling a story spanning millions of years.

It was time for a Crazy Professor episode and with Attack of the Clothes this year’s Futurama season gets one in the best way possible. It’s funny, crazy and absolutely ludicrous – and one of the best Farnsworth stories yet. Written by Ariel Ladensohn, who actually is more associated with the Solar Opposites competition and was only involved with one previous Futurama episode, the story still hits all the hallmarks of a Futurama classic. Professor Farnsworth’s shenanigans are always welcome and this entry takes things in a direction that is unusual even for Futurama.