Ring worlds have been a prolific source of science fiction material, from the circular alien constructions in science fiction master Larry Niven's "Ringworld" novels, to the spherical megastructures of the "Halo" video game universe—which has just released its remake "Campaign Evolved" of the original game for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on 28 July—or the ring-shaped orbital habitat for the ultra-wealthy that appears in director Neill Blomkamp's 2013 science fiction film, "Elysium".
The creative team at "Futurama" on Hulu takes advantage of this popular trope in the latest episode titled "Lords of the Ring", where the Planet Express crew crashes on a strange world whose shape resembles a colossal space ring. This unusual place is inhabited solely by superintelligent rats, and it doesn't take long before Fry, Leela, Amy, Bender, Hermes, Zoidberg and Professor Farnsworth find themselves caught up in a mission to figure out how all of this came to be. Season 14 of "Futurama" premiered on 3 August, so there is plenty of time to catch up with the eccentric antics of the far future.
"'Lords of the Ring' is absolutely loaded with references and inspirations from classic science fiction, even by our standards," showrunner David X. Cohen told Space. "For starters, the setting of the episode is a massive 'space ring' that creates its own artificial gravity by rotating. I'm a big fan of space rings. The classic influence, of course, is Larry Niven's 'Ringworld' novel, often cited as a prime example of the 'Big Dumb Object' genre of science fiction".
Cohen was also inspired by another influential ring: the elegant orbital space station that appears in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 "2001: A Space Odyssey", a particular favourite of episode writer Bill Odenkirk. "I think in our early discussions of the episode he proposed something more like that, but it evolved as we developed the story from a small orbital ring to a medium-sized 'big dumb' space ring," Cohen added. The episode is also inspired by "Planet of the Apes". "If it weren't for all the ring aspect, we could have called it 'Planet of the Rats'. Several aspects of the episode, including the idea of forbidden ancient relics and a non-human mammal civilization, are inspired by 'Planet of the Apes'".
The spectacular visuals of the episode are another highlight for Cohen, who says it is one of his favourites from the new season. "Director Crystal Chesney Thompson actually kept rats as pets, and she really brought this crazy world to life," he noted. Season 14 of "Futurama" is currently airing on Hulu, with new episodes each Monday until 28 September 2026. "Lords of the Ring" aired on 17 August, so it is available to watch right now.
