Earlier in the week, we reported on speculation that Futurama, in the aftermath of its four straight to DVD movies, could possibly be revived by Comedy Central for a brand new 13-episode run. This would have marked a remarkable turn-around for a show that had pretty much ended in 2003, when Fox decided not to order up any more episodes.

Well, since we reported that, things have got even better. Because it's now been officially confirmed that Comedy Central has indeed ordered a fresh series of the show, and also, that it's 26 episodes that they're after, not the originally suspected 13.

Furthermore, key voice talent Katey Segal, Billy West and John DiMaggio are all on board as well. According to a Variety report, we can expect the new episodes to start screening in the middle of next year.

It also bodes well, potentially, for one or two other shows that could potentially be saved by cable TV networks. As we mentioned yesterday, there's an outside chance of a deal to save My Name Is Earl, too.

For now, though, let's celebrate one that we've managed to get back....

Variety