Coming as no surprise, TVLine.com is reporting that MGM+ will not pick up a third season of the sci fi series Beacon 23. That was originally produced as a partnership with Spectrum Originals and AMC, but when the former shut down, AMC backed away from the property and it was shopped around. Two seasons were part of the original deal, and MGM+ picked those up, though apparently that was just for a burn-off run. Nielsen does not track either the linear arm of that network nor its streaming service, so I have not seen any viewership numbers. But I have had it On the Bubble since its first season because of the shuffling around that the show went through. Televisionstats.com shows it with a relatively low engagement score over the last year (average of 2.6) and it has averaged only a 55% Tomatometer Score and a 52% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes across its two seasons. Word is that the property will get shopped around, and executive producer Glen Mazzara has indicated that additional seasons are planned. But seeing as it never developed much positive buzz or a notable following, it may not draw much interest.
This announcement will count back on the 2023-24 season and will bring the Cancellation/Renewal Score to 26 cancelled and ending sci fi and fantasy entries (33% of shows tracked) vs. 36 renewed (46%). You can see the breakdown of the numbers and the full list of shows for the current and prior seasons at our Cancellation Watch Page.
Beacon 23 follows two people trapped on a space lighthouse known as a “beacon” which is located at the end of the known universe. Each must determine the other’s motives and whether they can trust them as the situation on the malfunctioning station grows increasingly more tense. It stars Lena Headey, Stephan James, Marnie McPhail, Daniel Malik, and Carolina Bartczak and is based on the book of the same name by Hugh Howey.
The 2024-25 season has just begun, but there are still more shows from the prior year waiting for word on their fates, and I expect more announcements to come over the next month or so. You can see the status of all this season’s shows at this link. And be sure to follow this site as well as our Twitter and Mastodon accounts for updates and breaking news.
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This show had it’s problems but it also had some promise as one of the few space based shows out there. It seemed like it had a rich background story to draw from. Too bad.