After two seasons, HBO Max has decided to cancel the sci-fi TV show Raised by Wolves, Variety reports. Originally ordered to series for the cable channel TNT, its first season premiered in 2020, and four months after HBO Max launched, it ranked as the service’s top streaming series.
The first two episodes were directed by Ridley Scott, and the plot, which focused on two androids raising human children on a desolate alien planet, aligned well with the hallmarks of his style. We mentioned the show as one of the standout options on HBO Max in 2021, saying, “There is a strong sense of foreboding in this world, but you just can’t turn away.” The cancellation of big-budget shows with intense fandom followings is a move we’ve seen from Netflix (more than once), and it may continue as other streamers use similar strategies to cultivate a subscriber base.
Before the cancellation, cast members were calling on watchers to advocate for the show’s future. Abubakar Salim, who played “Father” in Raised by Wolves, hinted in a Twitter thread last week that the show’s fate was in jeopardy with the hashtag #RenewRaisedByWolves, while referring to the merger of HBO Max parent company WarnerMedia and Discovery, which was completed in April.
Call to action #RenewRaisedByWolves
It’s not surprising, especially after the news of the mergers and what is happening at Warner, that a lot of shows are not having their stories finished.
— Abubakar Salim (@Abzybabzy) June 3, 2022
HBO Max said in a statement to Variety, “While we are not proceeding with a third season of Raised by Wolves, we are beyond grateful to the stellar cast and crew, our creators Aaron Guzikowski, Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and the entire team at Scott Free Productions, for their beautiful artistry and unique ability to immerse fans into the world of Kepler-22b.”
