‘Space Force’ Canceled By Netflix After 2 Seasons

Nellie Andreeva
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has opted not to renew Greg Daniels and Steve Carell’s comedy series Space Force for a third season.

The decision on the series, which starred John Malkovich and Ben Schwartz alongside Carell, comes two and a half months after Season 2 was released February 18. It did not break into the overall Nielsen streaming weekly Top 10 ranking but made a brief appearance on the streaming originals Nielsen charts, debuting at No. 8 and rising to No. 7 the following week. It also had a short presence in Netflix’s Daily Top 10 raking, peaking at around No. 5 after Season 1 had had a lengthy stay at No. 1.

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Viewership (along with critical acclaim) vs. cost is a key factor in Netflix’s pickup decisions, so for an expensive show like Space Force, the ratings renewal bar is high. The streamer also recently canceled Raising Dion, which was released around the same time as Space Force and ranked a spot or two higher on the Nielsen Originals chart.

Space Force was born with a lot of promise, reuniting The Office‘s developer/executive producer Daniels and star Carell. Clearly influenced by the Trump administration’s Space Force creation, the show revolved around a group of people tasked with establishing the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces, the Space Force. It assembled a top-notch class that included Carell, Malkovich, Schwartz, Tawny Newsome, Dianna Silvers, Don Lake and Jimmy O. Yang.

Season 2 picked up with General Naird (Carell) and his underdog team having to prove their worth to a new administration while dealing with interpersonal challenges.

Daniels remains in business with Netflix, where he is working on other projects including animated comedies Bad Crimes and Exploding Kittens.

Comedy has been harder to crack than drama for Netflix — as well as other streamers — with imports Cobra Kai and Emily In Paris as well as The Upshaws, Grace and Frankie, Dead to Me, Never Have I Ever and Russian Doll; the animated Big Mouth and cult performer I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson among its strongest/most acclaimed current shows.

Coming up are That 90s Show, Blockbuster, The Pentaverate (Mike Myers), Unstable (Rob Lowe,) Survival of the Thickest (Michelle Buteau) and Uncoupled (Darren Star, Neil Patrick Harris).

Space Force was co-created by Carell and Greg Daniels, who served as co-showrunner with Norm Hiscock. Daniels and Hiscock executive produced with Carell, Howard Klein, Brent Forrester and Ken Kwapis.

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