#NOS4A2 canceled at AMC; why is season 3 not happening?

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“#NOS4A2 canceled at AMC; why is season 3 not happening?”

This summer has been a rough one for series getting canceled and, unfortunately, NOS4A2 now joins the list.

In a new series of posts on Twitter, showrunner Jami O’Brien made the announcement expressing her gratitude for the show’s viewers and everyone who helped to make the series possible:

Well friends, I heard from AMC last week. We won’t be making a 3rd season of NOS4A2. It’s a bummer, but I’m grateful we were at least able to finish adapting the storyline from Joe Hill’s terrific novel. CONGRATULATIONS to every single member of our phenomenal team on two seasons of weird and wonderful TV. I will miss seeing everyone back in Little Rhody this year, but I’m awfully proud of all we’ve done together. THANK YOU to [Joe Hill] for all your generosity, imagination, and support, and for trusting us with Vic and Charlie, Maggie, Bing, Linda, Chris, Lou, Tabitha, Wayne, Millie, and all your flawed, complicated, and beautiful characters. And THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who tuned in — especially to those who tweeted along with us each week — you made Sunday nights a lot of fun. Hope to do it again with you all somewhere down the road.

Are we sad that NOS4A2 is canceled? Absolutely, but we also have to say that it’s not a huge surprise. The live ratings for season 2 were down big versus the first season, meaning that there wasn’t that retention that most major networks look to in order to bring a show back. There were more people watching after the fact, but clearly there weren’t enough to greenlight another season. It’s fair to guess that the pandemic may play some sort of role in the decision here, since it’s harder to get production of live-action shows underway during this time. Yet, it was far from the only factor and there are a lot of things that are juggled here at the network.

Moving forward here, our biggest hope is that AMC does not abandon picking up series with supernatural edges. We think The Walking Dead inspired them to go in this direction, and we do think there is potential for so many more creative ideas out there.