5 Reasons The Simpsons & Futurama Crossover Failed

While 2014’s one-episode crossover between The Simpsons and Futurama was highly anticipated, the outing itself had enough flaws to sink the entire enterprise. Crossover episodes are notoriously hard to pull off well and easy to get wrong for numerous reasons. For one thing, both shows must have relatively harmonious tones. Otherwise, the resulting episode won’t do justice to both of their respective sets of characters. However, the two shows can’t be too similar, since this would leave the crossover outing feeling like an exercise in redundancy. Finally, the higher profile of the more successful series always runs the risk of eclipsing the smaller show.