# Why no Futurama DVD in the US?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-futurama-dvd-in-the-us/123433>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 11, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-futurama-dvd-in-the-us/123433 "2002-08-11T22:00:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-futurama-dvd-in-the-us/123433/1 "2002-08-11T22:00:22Z")

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I’ve looked around for information on this, but anything I find is anecdotal. So I ask the great minds here: England is enjoying season 1 of **Futurama** on DVD, so why isn’t it available in the States? I’ve heard something about syndication statutes but I haven’t seen anything substantive. Thanks!

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**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-futurama-dvd-in-the-us/123433/2 "2002-08-11T22:05:56Z")

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I doubt it is statutory. I figure it is contractual.

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-futurama-dvd-in-the-us/123433/3 "2002-08-11T23:08:01Z")

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Because Fox hates _Futurama_ and doesn’t want to admit that it was a good show and shouldn’t have been cancelled.

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**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-futurama-dvd-in-the-us/123433/4 "2002-08-12T01:57:19Z")

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One of the heads said at the San Diego Comicon that it will be eventually be released in Region 1.

Basically, Fox does what will make them the most money. They’ve stated that _24_ wouldn’t really do well in syndication, so that’s why they’re bringing it out on DVD soon. (They also seem to expect _Malcolm in the Middle_ to fail too, even though it’s a 30-minute sitcom that doesn’t tell a long story over a full season of episodes, The Adventures of Francis nonwithstanding-how else can you explain that the U.S. and Canada get Season One later this year when the successful show is only three years old?)