Forgotten 12-Part Sci-Fi Series Is Futurama Meets Doctor Who Via Shaun Of The Dead

Published Jul 26, 2026, 4:28 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. Although one cult sci-fi show from Britain blended Doctor Who and Futurama’s premises and featured a star from Shaun of the Dead, this cult hit remains criminally underrated decades later. Some of the best Doctor Who storylines have aged terribly, leaving fans in the awkward position of celebrating the iconic sci-fi show’s innovations while also conceding that its older episodes feature some seriously questionable issues of representation. In contrast, the iconic animated sci-fi comedy series Futurama has been forced to contend with its own spotty history as the show has been repeatedly canceled and renewed over the decades. Originally running for four seasons from 1999 until 2003, the cult hit was revived with four standalone straight-to-DVD spinoff movies in 2006, before Comedy Central brought back the show for a few more seasons from 2010 until 2013. After Comedy Central canceled Futurama again, Hulu brought the series back for another three-season revival in 2022. While Futurama’s many cancellations are almost as famous as the show itself, they do mean that the beloved sci-fi series has distinct eras, much like Doctor Who. In contrast, another show that blended the appeal of both series never lasted long enough to earn this distinction. Beginning in January 2006, Hyperdrive was a space-set sitcom from the BBC starring Shaun of the Dead’s Nick Frost as Space Commander Michael "Mike" "Lucky Jack" "Hendo" Henderson and Miranda Hart as Diplomatic Officer Chloe Alice Teal. Hyperdrive Was The Natural Successor To Red Dwarf Much like the earlier British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, which lasted 12 seasons and spawned a TV movie, Hyperdrive was a broad, goofy spoof of ensemble space opera shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation. The show saw Frost’s Hendo and Hart’s Teal uphold Britain’s interests throughout the galaxy, which meant stumbling through diplomatic disasters alongside Kevin Eldon’s unhinged First Officer Eduardo Pauline York, Stephen Evans’ meek Navigator Dave Vine, and Dave Antopolski’s slacker Technical Officer Karl Jeffers. The central gag of Hyperdrive, like Red Dwarf and Futurama before it, was asking viewers what would happen if the trustworthy, reliable, and inherently decent crew of the one of the Star Trek franchise’s shows were replaced by slovenly, greedy, comically flawed characters. As such, Hyperdrive could have been a cult hit like these two earlier series, as the sitcom applied a level of cynical subversion to the typical space opera setup seen in so many earnest TV shows. Hyperdrive's Cast Members Who Went On To Bigger Things However, Hyperdrive lasted only two seasons between 2006 and 2007 and, due to the brevity of UK TV seasons, the series only released 12 episodes. While Frost was already notable before Hyperdrive thanks to the success of Shaun of the Dead, his post-Hyperdrive career saw him appear in blockbusters like The Huntsman: Winter's War, 2011’s The Adventures of Tintin, How to Train Your Dragon, and Tomb Raider, as well as playing lead roles in the cult comedies Paul and The World’s End. Frost will soon star as Hagrid in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot, taking over the role from the late Robbie Coltrane. Hart, meanwhile, went on to play supporting roles in 2015’s Melissa McCarthy vehicle Spy, 2023’s animated family movie The Canterville Ghost, and 2020’s acclaimed Jane Austen adaptation Emma, as well as headlining a popular BBC sitcom of her own, Miranda, from 2009 until 2015. While Frost and Hart have enjoyed a higher profile since their short-lived British sci-fi sitcom ended, Hyperdrive has not yet been rediscovered by fans of cult TV oddities the way Red Dwarf was. This is a shame since, at its best, Hyperdrive mixed the uniquely British scrappiness of Doctor Who’s silliest outings with the ensemble set-up of Futurama, creating a comedy that was as familiar as it was original. Release Date 2006 - 2007-00-00 Network BBC One Directors John Henderson Writers Kevin Cecil Cast Chris Brailsford Space Force Inspector Clare Thomson Commander Roche Ewan Bailey Computer (voice)