NYCC 2017: Future Man Is a Fun Sci-Fi Action Romp

Every con that I go to, I usually end up going to at least one panel for a show that I know nothing about, and this year one of those was Future Man. Though, to be fair, Future Man hasn’t aired yet – it premieres November 14 on Hulu. After the panel and the press room, I think it’s safe to assume I’ll be checking this show out…even if it means getting a Hulu account.

Future Man centers around Josh Futturman (Josh Hutcherson), a janitor at the foremost STD research center in the country. The only thing he really has going for him is his skill at a video game that no one has ever beaten before. One night, he is finally able to win the game and is suddenly visited by people from the future — Tiger and Wolf, characters in the video game he has just finished playing. In the future, video games are training simulators, and they sent the game back to the past in order to find the person who will help them win the war for humanity. Instead, they got Josh.

Hulu screened the pilot at its NYCC panel. I went in with no expectations, and I really enjoyed it. The producers joked that the idea came from their desire to ruin genres as they go, but while the show is full of humor, it’s definitely not a spoof. The humor comes from the outlandish concept of taking characters from a violent video game and putting them in a world where such violence is unnecessary and really, really not okay. It’s from the same team that did This Is The End and Sausage Party, one of which I have seen and enjoyed and one which I had absolutely no interest in seeing. Future Man has the same kind of ridiculous raunchiness, so if you didn’t like either of those movies, you probably won’t like this show.

Future Man is a show borne out of a love for the sci-fi genre, and you can definitely see homages to some old school films in the pilot. According to the producers, there are numerous nods to other sci-fi films throughout the season. The video game concept is simply an introduction to the story, and most of the plot revolves around Josh, Tiger, and Wolf’s attempts to change the past in order to change the future. This show has a lot of potential, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the press room, where I spoke to series stars Josh Hutcherson, Haley Joel Osment, Eliza Coupe, and Derek Wilson, creators Ariel Shaffir and Kyle Hunter, and showrunner Ben Karlin. Check out our interviews below!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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