Futurama Season 11 Episode 6 Review: I Know What You Did Next Xmas

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Futurama Season 11 Episode 6, “I Know What You Did Next Xmas,” is a fun throwback to classic holiday episodes of the beloved show, featuring a delightful character pairing and a unique use of time travel.

This episode, written by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, and Ariel Ladensohn, has numerous references to past episodes of Futurama while providing us with amusing holiday shenanigans courtesy of the Planet Express crew and their families. 

‘I Know What You Did Next Xmas” combines time travel with Christmas — or, as it has long been known on Futurama, “Xmas.” On this episode, we finally get Robot Santa’s (John DiMaggio) entire backstory and exactly how he came to be evil. 

This episode also marks the reappearance of Professor Farnsworth’s time travel machine, seen initially on Futurama Season 7 Episode 7, “The Late Philip J. Fry.” As expected, this version is more advanced and can reverse time.

This leads to wild shenanigans, as expected. 

The latest outing also references that earlier episode’s depiction of history repeating itself. Farnsworth’s reversal through time quickly shows us futuristic settings — sometimes in blink-and-miss moments — that we saw in the earlier episode.

One of the best parts of this episode is the inclusion of Kwanzaa-Bot (Coolio) and the Chanukah Zombie (Mark Hamill), both featured in previous holiday episodes of Futurama. 

Sadly, Coolio passed away just weeks after recording dialogue and a holiday-themed rap, and the episode wisely ends with “In Memory of Coolio.” 

Futurama has featured holiday episodes throughout its run, beginning in Season 2 with “The Xmas Story” and continuing two more times. Despite airing in the summer, this Season 11 episode feels joyful, fun, and full of holiday spirit. 

It’s a delight to see Bender and Zoidberg team up, as we’ve seen very little of that. In a way, they are both outcasts, even though Bender has often been confident and social, whereas Zoidberg has been known to commiserate over his isolation. 

Seeing Bender and Zoidberg on an adventure on this episode is quite the treat. They work well together, so hopefully, the show’s writers will consider having them team up again. 

There is a twist at the end, which is hardly farfetched, as it follows the same time travel logic as Futurama Season 4 Episode 1, “Roswell That Ends Well.” Unlike the paradoxical elements rampant in Bender’s Big Score, it brings about an exciting revelation that makes sense. 

Like the rest of this season, “I Know What You Did Next Xmas” stays true to the characters. In a montage showing

different characters’ holiday meals, we also see several characters we hadn’t seen this season — such as LaBarbara (Dawnn Lewis) and Hubert (Kath Soucie).  

Amy’s parents have also returned for this episode, and it seems implied that they are now happy (or least satisfied) with the grandchildren they’d wanted for so long. Her parents appeared apathetic about being grandparents, so it’s good to see a bit of a change here. 

Viewers will notice a few pop-culture references, including “Nightmare before Xmas” and a character saying the common Scrooge phrase “bah humbug.” And, as has been typical of this season, modern technology such as Venmo is referenced. 

Stray Observations:

• It is good to see Kif (Maurice LaMarche) and Amy’s (Lauren Tom) three children on this episode.
• Farnsworth jokes about Fry becoming his grandfather in “Roswell That Ends Well.” 
• As we saw on “How the West was 10010001,” Hermes and his son, Dwight, were able to limbo, so it was nice to see that brought back here. 
• Farnsworth calls Fry his “Uncle Fry,” which is not something we often hear, but it’s true! 
• URL, the robot cop, returns and is now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson (DiMaggio previously voiced him).

—

What did you think of this episode of Futurama? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

New episodes of Futurama stream Mondays on Hulu.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Vote for Your Favorite TV Couples! Tell-Tale TV’s Battle of the Ships 2023 (Final Round)