Cohen noted that the “big emotion” scenes of “Futurama” require a lot more finesse than the show’s usual comedy scenes. Nailing the timing of a joke, it seems, is easier to get on tape than anything heftier and more serious. When the interviewer, Phil Dyess-Nugent, asked Cohen about the way his actors handle more serious scenes, he was frank about how hard it was just to get his cast in the same room together. Sagal, remember, was starring in the hot FX series “Sons of Anarchy” concurrently with “Futurama.” Cohen said:
“Those scenes are the most difficult and are where you find you have to do the most takes. I also find it very useful to get the actors all in the same room, at the same time, which is not always done in animation. For the scenes between Fry and Leela in the final episode, for example, Katey Sagal was very busy, because she’s shooting ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ at the same time she’s recording ‘Futurama.'”
Cohen said, however, that sussing out logistics was necessary, as certain “Futurama” scenes weren’t functioning keeping his actors apart. West and Sagal, Cohen felt, really needed to react to each other. It’s worth noting that Fry began the series having an unrequited crush on Leela, and the two have slowly grown together as the series progressed. By the end of the show’s seventh season, Fry and Leela were an official couple and had openly declared their love for one another. That kind of romance wouldn’t work if it abided by the usual “Futurama” tone of wackiness.