Making Sense of TV’s Wave of “Un-Renewals”

Welcome to the age of the “un-renewals.” As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage balance sheets across the entertainment industry, a rapidly rising number of scripted originals are having their previously announced renewals reversed. This week , Netflix retreated on a planned fourth and final season of Jenji Kohan-produced comedy GLOW and Showtime bailed on a second season of its Kirsten Dunst dark comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida. Both shows joined the ranks of the “un-renewed” that also include Netflix’s The Society and I Am Not Okay With This as well as TruTV’s I’m Sorry, USA Network’s Evel and ABC’s Stumptown as scripted originals who met a premature demise. So what’s behind the unfortunate trend? While each show is different, increased costs is one factor that they all have in common. Filming during the pandemic requires each production to adhere to a set of safety protocols put in place and agreed upon by various guilds and studios. “It really depends on the show itself but I’m going to give you a rough number and say it’s between $300,000 and $500,000 additional per episode for PPE,” prolific producer Alex Kurtzman ( Star Trek: Discovery, […]

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