Future Man (TV series)


Future Man is an American comedy web television series created by Howard Overman, Kyle Hunter, and Ariel Shaffir that premiered on November 14, 2017 on Hulu. The series follows an underachieving janitor who is called upon to save the world. It stars Josh Hutcherson, Eliza Coupe, and Derek Wilson; and Ed Begley Jr., Glenne Headly, Seth Rogen and Haley Joel Osment in recurring roles and is executive produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. A third and final season was released on April 3, 2020.

Premise

A janitor, Josh Futturman, successfully completes his favorite video game, Biotic Wars, when suddenly the game's two main characters, Tiger and Wolf, appear and recruit Josh to save the world from the real Biotic Wars. Josh and his companions travel through time to change the future.

Cast and characters

The following is a list of series regulars, recurring and guest stars from Future Man.

Main

Season 1 (2017)

Season 2 (2019)

Season 3 (2020)

Production

Development

On September 9, 2016, it was announced that Hulu had ordered the production to series after reviewing the recently produced pilot. The series order was reported to be for a first season consisting of thirteen episodes. The pilot was written by Ariel Shaffir and Kyle Hunter from a story by the duo and Howard Overman and was directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The series' executive producers include Shaffir, Hunter, Rogen, Goldberg and James Weaver. On January 8, 2018, it was announced that Hulu had renewed the series for a second season consisting of thirteen episodes. On October 1, 2018, it was announced that the second season would premiere on January 11, 2019. On April 9, 2019, it was reported that Hulu renewed the series for a third and final season which premiered on April 3, 2020.

Casting

On February 17, 2016, it was announced that Josh Hutcherson had been cast in the television pilot's lead role. A week later, it was reported that Eliza Coupe had also been cast in a main role. On March 7, 2016, it was announced that Glenne Headly and Ed Begley Jr. had joined the main cast as Hutcherson's character's parents. On May 2, 2016, Derek Wilson joined the production in a main role. In April 2017, it was reported that Patrick Carlyle and Robert Craighead had been cast in recurring roles.
On June 28, 2018, it was announced that Shaun Brown had joined the cast in a recurring capacity. On July 17, 2018, it was reported that Sara Amini and Rati Gupta had been cast in recurring roles. In August 2018, it was announced that Tim Johnson Jr., Jade Catta-Preta and Timothy Hornor had also been cast in recurring roles.

Filming

On June 8, 2017, cast member Glenne Headly died after she filmed five episodes of the planned 13-episode season order. Producers stated that she would not be recast and that the episodes she filmed will air, leaving the writers with the need to rework the episodes she was due to feature in.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has an approval rating of 82% based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 7.08 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Future Mans nostalgia-driven premise is elevated by the cast's compelling chemistry and a sense of humor just dumb enough to lighten the sci-fi load." On Metacritic season 1 has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club praises the committed performances, the "gleefully ludicrous nonsense", and that "If it figures out the proper tone and blend of stupid-smart jokes with its game cast, the series could potentially travel forward to a time when it becomes a great sci-fi comedy."
On Rotten Tomatoes, season 2 has an approval rating of 100% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 8.03 out of 10.
Adam Chitwood of Collider.com wrote: "Future Man's strength as a series has been the writers' willingness to take the sci-fi seriously, and indeed there are times when you almost want the joke to be done so you can find out what happens next in the story."
On Rotten Tomatoes, season 3 has 3 positive reviews.
Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club wrote: "Future Man finds a decent denouement to close out its triptych of seasons, and those who enjoyed past installments won’t be let down by this one. If only all that traveling through space and time could have found a more richly developed series."
Adam Chitwood of Collider.com called it "A little disappointing but not inessential" and that although it will not convince those who never got into the show to check it out, it should satisfy fans of the series.

Awards and nominations

In 2018 Future Man was Nominated for Best New Media Superhero Series at the 44th Saturn Awards

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