'The OA' canceled at Netflix after two seasons
Interpretive dance magic and wild Jesus allegories weren't enough to keep The OA train rolling at Netflix, unfortunately.
After two seasons and 16 episodes, the streaming service has decided to not continue with the Brit Marling-led series. Season 2 answered a bunch of big questions while raising even more new ones, but you should expect no further closure after the surprising finale, which seemed to break through the fourth wall and into our reality.
"We are incredibly proud of the 16 mesmerizing chapters of The OA, and are grateful to Brit and [co-creator Zal Batmanglij] for sharing their audacious vision and for realizing it through their incredible artistry," Netflix VP of Original Content Cindy Holland said in a statement. "We look forward to working with them again in the future, in this and perhaps many other dimensions."
If you know the show well, you can see how that statement might be teasing a future Marling/Batmanglij project that lives in the same universe as The OA. Just don't start getting your hopes up; the statement could also just be a cute insider reference to help ease the pain of saying goodbye.
The OA launched in Dec. 2016 and quickly caused quite a stir because of its completely bananas premise and uniquely structured approach to telling the story. The series follows Marling's Prairie Johnson, a blind woman who went missing for seven years and then returned, her sight restored.
As the first season goes on, we learned more about what Prairie went through during those missing seven years, and what it is that makes her special. With many questions answered at the end of the season, and just as many new ones raised, Season 2 struck out in a new and unexpected direction.
Netflix didn't have much more to say about the show returning, and the company doesn't typically share data like viewership numbers that might help subscribers understand why some shows stay and some shows go.
The fact that The OA is finished despite it receiving plenty of critical acclaim suggests that maybe viewers weren't as on board as reviews said they should be. The first season had a big viral moment, but excitement for the second set of episodes -- technically dubbed "Part II" -- never reached the same heights.
Topics Netflix
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
