Another announcement came in under the radar yesterday as word broke that Play Station Network’s superhero series Powers will not be returning for a third season. That series bowed on the service last year and received some decent buzz which lead to a second season (that debuted on May 31st). But apparently they have decided that two seasons will be enough for the show. This is PSN’s first scripted show and I don’t know what the viewership was because they have not shared the numbers. Powers has been well received, but it is yet another entry without much exposure in the ever more crowded playing field of the Too-Much-TV Era. Whether PSN decided that the viewership was too low for Powers or that it was too expensive to continue is uncertain at this point. Perhaps they have decided to back away from the scripted programming arena because the competition is too stiff at the moment. With the streaming services, it is always hard to determine if they will stick with one of their original programs, especially if it is not drawing much attention. The series was based on the comic books co-created by Brian Michael Bendis and he tweeted this after the announcement: “this is hard to tweet, but word is that @POWERStheSERIES is sadly, no more. season 2 was the last. at least for now”. Whether the “for now” indicates that he will try to shop the property around remains to be seen, but he did indicate that a new story will be coming in comic book format.
Other shows currently awaiting word on their fate include Chiller’s Slasher (renewal possible), Freeform’s Stitchers (on the bubble), FOX’s Wayward Pines (on the bubble), and CBS’ Braindead (cancellation likely). Keep a close eye on this site as well as the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for any breaking news on those shows and more in the coming weeks.
