He is 58 years old, has a degree in physics from Harvard and a master’s in computer science from Berkley. He has always had an enormous talent for mathematics but also a humorous streak that he has never silenced and that later turned out to be the key to his success. David X. Cohen in life imagined anything but becoming one of the most important screenwriters in the modern serial scene but you know, life is always able to give surprises, especially if you have talent, desire to do and an extraordinary creativity. And that’s how that boy from New Jersey, son of biologists, became a screenwriter for The Simpsons and co-creator of the iconic animated science fiction series Futurama. On July 29, the twelfth season of Futurama came out on Disney+ and on the occasion of this great return to the small screen of Bender, Fry, Leela and all the other characters of the show, we interviewed the mind and the pen behind this title that for 25 years has made the entire world laugh, reflect and move.
David first of all thank you for creating an incredible series like Futurama. We have reached the twelfth season, what should we expect?
“Thank you. I’m really excited about this new season. Last year with Futurama’s eleventh season – coming ten years after the series finale in 2013 – it was difficult for us to both please the old fans and make the story understandable for a new audience. With Futurama 12 we had more freedom and it’s a really fun season. Plus, we wrote it with the idea of it being the last season, so be prepared for an emotional finale.”
You created Futurama in 1999 and after 25 years we are still here watching it. Did you expect such a success and what do you think is the secret of this series?
“No, I didn’t expect this success but I came from a job as a screenwriter for The Simpsons, a series that at the time had already turned 10 years old, which was unusual at the time – now it’s 35 (laughs) – and thanks to The Simpsons I had in my head that Futurama could also last a long time. So we laid the foundations for this to happen. We wrote it so that it wouldn’t age easily”.
How you do it?
“Science fiction helps with this. Just don’t make direct references to characters or real events of the moment but imagine crises or situations that could affect the world in the future so when you watch the show after years it doesn’t seem dated but current. So our secret weapon for the longevity of Futurama is its genre: science fiction.”
You have a degree in physics and one in computer science, how did you end up becoming a screenwriter?
“It all started as a hobby of mine. I wrote comic strips for the college newspaper and I did it just for fun. At the time, becoming a comedy writer wasn’t seen as a real job, but then some friends of mine decided to take this path and started getting jobs so I thought I’d do it too. But first I wanted to finish my studies in computer science. When I told my parents, who are both scientists, that I wanted to change my life, they were worried. Then they understood.”
Do you think your scientific studies have helped your creativity?
“Yes. When people used to ask me what science and screenwriting have in common, I would say: not much. But there’s actually a philosophical connection between science and writing: in mathematics or science in general, you’re always trying to prove something and you’re never sure if it’s true or not so you have to find a way to get to the solution and I think it’s the same with writing. We want to get to an emotion or an ending that we have in our heads and we have to rely on our experience to create the right path to get there.”
You have more than 30 years of career behind you in the world of screenwriting, you have written iconic series such as The Simpsons, Futurama, can you reveal the secret to writing a beautiful story that conquers the audience?
“I almost always start with a theme that I want to tackle. Then I think about which character in the story would be most interested in that topic and I develop it. Other times, instead, I think about which characters have never had the chance to confront each other and I look for a theme that they would be in conflict about. And finally, the most important thing of all – a philosophy that I share with Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons) – is that whatever the story is, you always have to think about this: ‘what does the character care about most?’ I think people are much more emotionally involved in the story if they can grasp what the characters are concerned about.”
Has the work of a screenwriter changed today compared to the past?
“The work itself hasn’t changed, what has changed is my approach to writing. At the beginning it was very difficult and very stressful for me, especially when I had to create a show that didn’t exist yet. I often found myself tearing out pages and starting from scratch. Now the process is much simpler and having more experience I already know what could work and what wouldn’t but the most difficult thing today is having new ideas”.
Your job is to write TV series, but what titles do you like to watch when you’re at home?
“I don’t watch many comedy series even though I write them. I like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, classic crime shows like The Sopranos. In my free time I like to take my mind off comedy and watch murder stories, crimes (laughs).”
