'Futurama' cast replaced for new series

The voice cast for Comedy Central's upcoming series of Futurama has been given an overhaul, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Billy West, Tress MacNeille and Katey Sagal, who starred in the original series, have failed to reach an agreement with the production studio and new actors are now being auditioned.

It was confirmed last month that the animated show was being revived for a 26-episode, two-season run. It originally aired on Fox between 1999 and 2002 but the success of feature-length episodes and DVD sales prompted Comedy Central, who took over the programme's rights in 2006, to order fresh episodes.

In a statement last week, the studio said: "We love the Futurama voice performers and absolutely wanted to use them, but unfortunately, we could not meet their salary demands.

"While replacing these talented actors will be difficult, the show must go on."

The programme's creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen will appear at Comic-Con later this month, where the subject of recasting is likely to be addressed.