Netflix Cancels THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE After One Season

Well… crap. I was hoping that we’d get to season a second season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, but that’s not going to happen because Netflix has canceled the series. I loved the series, and the producers were ready to get to work on Season 2, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be, even though the series just took home an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.

Jim Henson Company CEO and executive producer Lisa Henson and Netflix shared the disappointing news to io9, and Henson thanked fans for their support in a statement and also said they’re looking at other ways to continue the story. She said:

“We can confirm that there will not be an additional season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. We know fans are eager to learn how this chapter of The Dark Crystal saga concludes and we’ll look for ways to tell that story in the future. Our company has a legacy of creating rich and complex worlds that require technical innovation, artistic excellence, and masterful storytelling. Our history also includes productions that are enduring, often finding and growing their audience over time and proving again and again that fantasy and science fiction genres reflect eternal messages and truths that are always relevant. We are so grateful to Netflix for trusting us to realize this ambitious series; we are deeply proud of our work on Age of Resistance, and the acclaim it has received from fans, critics and our peers, most recently receiving an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program.”

Netflix also released a statement congratulating the series on its Emmy win and thanking the talented team behind the show for creating it:

“We are grateful to the master artists at the Jim Henson Company for bringing The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance to life for fans around the world. We’re thankful to the executive producers Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford, and Louis Leterrier, who also directed all episodes, as well as the writers, cast and crew for their outstanding work and thrilled they were recognized with the Emmy this weekend.”

They’re so grateful that they canceled it. But, Netflix does have a track record of canceling shows early. It’s just a shame that it happened with The Dark Crystal. Unfortunately, it sounds like it was just too big an undertaking. The writers and producers Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews did have plans for how they wanted to bring the story to an end, hopefully, they get to eventually complete the story in some way.

As for why the series was canceled, apparently there was some behind the scenes drama and Netflix wasn’t happy with it. Earlier this month, a source told THR that the series was referred to as an “expensive disappointment.”

The report also points out that executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach said that not only was the show expensive to make, but it also boasted the longest shoot length in Netflix history. He explained:

“This is not a show where you have a franchise that you can say, ‘Okay, we’ll hire a bunch of new writers to look at the first season.’ This is a dynastic labor of artisanal love. To get it right, you need everybody. You need the Hensons, you need the Frouds. You need a certain amount of commitment financially and in terms of time. And it’s hard to get right. Out of everything that I’ve worked on, this would be probably the hardest one to get right. And the conditions have to come together for it to be exactly what it needs to be.”

Since Season 1 ended, many key members of the creative team moved on to other projects. Director Louis Letterier is now working on Bright 2, and Lisa Henson is currently working with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio adaptation. Grillo-Marxuach is now working as a writer on Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop.

What do you all think about The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance being canceled?