Is Paramount+ cleaning house?
It seems that every scripted series that doesn’t have Taylor Sheridan’s name attached is getting the pink slip.
The latest series to get canceled is Joe Pickett, which recently wrapped its sophomore run on the service.
We get it: The streaming bubble has burst.
Amid the SAG-AFTRA strike and coming off the WGA strike, some controversial decisions have been made across the whole breadth of the business.
But this latest cancellation from Paramount+ hurts, mainly because the series didn’t waste a single scene.
Paramount+ recently caught heat when it promoted the season finale as the series finale before walking the footage back.
These things happen.
It happened with Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin on Max, which went on to get renewed, so maybe it was a mistake.
But it doesn’t get away from the fact that we’re losing a gem of a series that delivered on many fronts.
On Joe Pickett Season 2, “Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett (Michael Dorman) discovers a hunter murdered in the mountains and realizes this is just one of a series of gruesome murders,” the logline for the Paramount+ series teases.
“To solve the case and catch the killer, Joe must navigate a radical anti-hunting activist, a ghoulish set of twins living off the grid and his own tortured past.
“Joe and his wife, Marybeth (Julianna Guill), discover that the murdered men weren’t as innocent as they seemed.
“But when they dig too deep, they are forced to go on the run and fight for their very lives.”
The series came from acclaimed directors, showrunners, and executive producers John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle (Waco, Waco: The Aftermath).
Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher served as executive producers for Red Wagon Entertainment.
C.J. Box, author of The New York Times #1 bestselling book series of the same name, also served as executive producer.
Joe Pickett started its life as a Spectrum Original in 2021, with the company ordering a second season.
However, Spectrum Originals were shut down, leading to Paramount+ stepping in to pick up the series.
Now, we won’t know where the story goes next for Joe or the people in his orbit, which is a real shame.
While many cancellations of late have resulted in series being banished from streaming, Joe Pickett is expected to stay put on the platform for the foreseeable future.
Along with Michael Dorman, the cast of the show also included Julianna Guill, Skywalker Hughes, David Alan Grieer, Kamryn Pilva, Sharon Lawrence, Mustafa Speaks, Vivienne Guynn, Chad Rook, Aadila Dosani, Patrick Gallagher, and Robert Le Blanc.
Paramout+’s cancellation streak started earlier this year with the service scrapping Grease, The Game, and Star Trek: Prodigy.
Those three series were removed from streaming, while more recent cancellations, Fatal Attraction and Rabbit Hole, are expected to remain on the service.
One of the most shocking cancellations in recent memory was iCarly, which got scrapped after three seasons, leaving fans on an almighty cliffhanger.
School Spirits landed a renewal earlier this summer and is set to stream its freshman season on Netflix in the U.S., which is likely a tactic to increase the show’s visibility when it returns.
Still on the bubble is YA drama Wolf Pack, which comes from Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis.
What are your thoughts on the cancellation?
Do you feel like most shows without being attached to the Yellowstone universe are getting canceled?
Do you think Joe Pickett deserved a third season?
Hit the comments below.
Stream the first two seasons on Paramount+.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.