Archive link: https://archive.ph/6Kf65
Starz is canceling four of its series, Variety has learned exclusively. Specifically, “Heels,” “Run the World,” and “Blindspotting” will not get new seasons at the cable network, while “The Venery of Samantha Bird” Season 1 is being scrapped without airing.
“Heels,” “Run the World,” and “Blindspotting” all recently aired their second season at Starz, while “The Venery of Samantha Bird” was in production on its first season. Production was shut down, however, at the onset of the WGA strike. It was reported at the time that only two episodes of the first season were left to shoot.
It seems like The Venery of Samantha Bird was an unfortunate casualty of the studios refusing to negotiate with unions in good faith, but it still shocks me that studios can just scrap a show that is so far into production.
At some point, it seems like the studios already payed most of the money, how much are they really saving by preventing anyone from seeing it? It’s an alarming trend that I’ve recently noticed, and I’m hoping it does not continue on (though I’m not exactly optimistic on it).
I’ve heard that it’s also very bad for the cast and crew when a show/ movie gets scrapped like that, because it functionally creates a huge hole on your resume where you can’t show what you worked on.
Every time there’s a cancellation like that, I hope that it gets leaked, just so the cast and crew’s hard work doesn’t go to waste.