Eight Sci Fi TV Shows (Plus One) Cancelled as Write-Downs: Westworld, Star Trek: Prodigy, Final Space, and More (Updated)

Cancellations have long been a fact of life in the television industry, especially for sci fi and fantasy shows. But recently, a new level of cancellation has shown up in the entertainment industry referred to as a write-down (also as a write-off). This is basically when a network, streamer, or studio takes a tax deduction on a property by claiming that it is losing money, and it is pulled from availability, in some cases permanently. I look at the reality of write-downs and their impact on genre television in more detail at this link, and below is a rundown of eight sci fi TV shows (plus one late addition) that fell victim to write-downs over the past year or so.

Westworld (HBO)

This reboot of the 70s sci fi film got off to a strong start with its first season in 2016 and was granted near-classic status out of the gates. However, it never counted as a huge hit viewership-wise, and subsequent season received less and less praise as its story got more muddled while production costs continued to increase (it ballooned to well over ten million dollars per episode). A fifth season was planned to wrap up all the storylines, but viewership had dropped low enough in its fourth year that HBO execs decided to cancel it at that point. It was then yanked from availability on HBO and Max, and any hope for that fifth season is pretty much gone considering how expensive this show is to produce. It was sent to the WB TV Watchlist live-streaming channel that is available on Tubi TV and the Roku Channel. That makes it hard to watch, though, because you have to catch it live and they don’t publish a schedule for the channel that I am aware of.

Star Trek: Prodigy (Paramount+)

This is the most recent victim of the recent write-down trend, and the cancellation of this animated Trek series came as somewhat of a surprise. It had been renewed for a second season, which is currently in production, and it had performed quite well in viewership. But Paramount+ is feeling the pressure of expanding too quickly–as are many of the streaming services–and went into cost-cutting mode this year. Prodigy was cancelled and pulled from streaming on the service, though the second season will allegedly still go forward and the show will get shopped to other venues. Nickelodeon seemed like the most likely landing spot since it already aired the first season after its streaming run, but that cable channel has not been mentioned and the linear networks have been shying away from scripted programming of late. I expect that Prodigy will find a new home, but the prospects of it continuing to a third season are slim.

Moonhaven (AMC+)

This unique sci fi entry arrived on AMC’s streaming service in Summer 2022 and turned into somewhat of a sleeper genre entry. It did not get much promotion, but it still managed to find an audience and became one of the most-watched originals on that service. It received a second-season renewal and seemed to be on track for a promising run. But then AMC reversed the decision while going through cost-cutting measures across its networks and cancelled plans for a second season while also pulling it from streaming. There were talks of shopping it around, and potentially that second year could have happened on a new venue. But nothing has come of that, and Moonhaven appears to have become another one-and-done casualty of the Peak TV crunch. The first season was available to purchase VOD on providers like Amazon.com, but it is currently showing to be unavailable there.

Willow (Disney+)

This fantasy series seemed like somewhat of a reach for Disney+, based on an 80s movie that was not a huge hit and that has been mostly forgotten these days. But it actually did an excellent job of carrying on the story of that film and it developed a rather dedicated fanbase. It apparently did not draw enough new subscriptions to the service, though, and even though it was not a super-expensive production, Disney+ decided to call it quits on the show, claiming that only one season was planned. In truth, that service was going through its own cost-cutting and it purged several other shows like The Mysterious Benedict Society. Series creator Jon Kasdan insists that production on Willow is only paused at the moment and it could continue to a second season at some point.  It has been pulled from streaming on Disney+, but fans continue to fight for the show, hoping that another venue will pick it up.

The Nevers (HBO)

This sci fi/steampunk entry premiered in Spring 2021 and actually performed quite well in viewership across its first six episodes. But then it went on an extended hiatus due to COVID-related production shutdowns, and it seemed to fall completely off the radar. In late 2022, there were rumors that the show would be returning with the remaining six episodes from its first season, but then HBO decided to go ahead and cancel it without ever airing those eps. In addition, it got lumped in with other write-downs and pulled from the cable channel and also from streaming on Max. It is unclear why HBO lost faith in the show considering that it got off to a good start, but it may have been linked to the stigma of claims of abusive behavior against series creator Joss Whedon. Like Westworld, this one got shipped over to the live-streaming WB TV watch channel, and the final six episodes did eventually air there. But a second season appears to be out of the question, and trying to catch all of the episodes on live-streaming is somewhat of a challenge.

Raised by Wolves (Max)

This love-it-or-hate-it sci fi entry received its cancellation notice in June 2022, apparently because it was not drawing in enough new subscriptions to justify its rather high production costs. It was later lumped in with the other write-down casualties, getting yanked from streaming on Max and sent over to WB TV Watchlist. It did develop a rather devoted fanbase who have been working hard to get it at least one more season. That would be an expensive endeavor, though, because it would likely involve buying up the rights to the property. But fans have been diligent and have not given up on it yet.

Pantheon (AMC+)

This AI-focused Anime arrived on AMC+ with little in the way of promotion and apparently did not reach a very wide audience. It had been renewed in advance through a second season, but AMC decided to throw this one in with their other cost-cutting casualties and yanked it from streaming. The second season was completed and the show is getting shopped around, but I have not heard if another venue has expressed interest yet. It is a decent little series and it would be a shame if that second season never sees the light of day due to its write-down status. But perhaps it will at least get a VOD release at some point (the first season is currently available VOD at Amazon.com and other sellers).

Final Space (Adult Swim)

The fate of this animated sci fi/comedy is the most chilling among the write-down victims, and Warner Bros Discovery (which has the most shows on this list) is responsible for casting it to oblivion. Final Space had a three-season run on Adult Swim and TBS where it pulled decent viewership. But it was quietly cancelled after its third year as part of a purging of content following The WB’s merger with Discovery. Apparently, cancellation was not enough, though, as the company announced a year later that the show would be counted as a write-down with plans to have it pulled from all platforms. Seasons 1 and 2 were streaming on VRV, but I believe it is gone from there now. All three seasons are currently streaming on Netflix internationally, but that deal will end later this year. The first two seasons were released on DVD, but those are out of print and the third season will not be made available on physical media. Only a few episodes of the second season are currently available to purchase VOD on Amazon.com, and those will likely disappear at some point. And there are no plans to shop this one around to other venues. It has been basically cancelled from existence and may never see the light of day again unless someone buys the rights to the entire property. Creator Olan Rogers was given permission to do a graphic novel to wrap up the series, but that may be it for the show. The implications of this are serious and far-reaching and prove that these companies look at TV shows as nothing more than products that can be dispensed with when they are no longer contributing to the bottom line.

Snowpiercer (TNT)

This is one that I forgot about and that was brought to my attention in the comments, though its situation is a little different. This show was an early victim of the purging following the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery, and even though it had been renewed for a fourth season, it was booted from TNT as that cable channel moved away from scripted programming. I don’t recall this one getting classed as a write-down, but it followed a similar path. The good news for the show is that Tomorrow Studios bought back the property and the fourth season has been completed. The show was being shopped around, and surprisingly it does not seem to have found a home yet. But there may have been some part of the deal that kept it from airing for a couple of years or so after it last ran on TNT. With a dearth of scripted programming due to the strikes, I expect this one to show up sooner rather than later, and there is even the possibility that a prequel or sequel series could follow.

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