SyFy cancels Krypton after two seasons; halts Lobo
By Mike McNulty
The Superman prequel saga and its spinoff come to a sudden end as the network opts not to renew Krypton for a third season.
The season finale of Krypton’s second season ended on a cliffhanger, setting up several recurring story arcs for a promising third season.
Little did audiences know that Wednesday’s season finale, “The Alpha and the Omega,” would also be the final episode. Because like the fictional planet, Krypton is no more.
As reported by Deadline, the SyFy channel will not renew the Superman prequel series chronicling the adventures of the Man of Steel’s grandfather, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe). Moreover, this also puts plans for their Lobo spin-off series on hold for the foreseeable future.
Until Warner Horizons (the studio behind both series) can find another network, both Krypton and Lobo are effectively over and done.
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Not that critics and audiences didn’t like Krypton. According to the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate scores, critics overwhelmingly loved the season more than they did the first.
No, the reason behind Krypton’s cancellation comes down to the same thing that always affects broadcast and cable TV shows: ratings.
As reported in the Deadline piece:
"…Krypton’s ratings took a hit in Season 2, down about 50% in Live+Same Day. As was the case with Expanse, for series that come from outside studios, Syfy has to rely solely on linear ratings to monetize a series, which is difficult for expensive shows like Krypton and Expanse, which command high license fees but whose viewers tend to watch content on digital platforms. For instance, Syfy only has streaming rights to the five most recent episodes of Krypton."
In addition, The Hollywood Reporter also states the ratings for the season (now series) finale generated only “350,000 same-day viewers.” Compare this to the first season finale, “The Phantom Zone,” which had 560,000 viewers, or the 1.32 million from the pilot episode.
The real shame of it that, as it stands, almost all of the series’ narratives are now incomplete. Seg-El teaming up with Lobo (Emmett J. Scanlan) to find baby Jor-El? Brainiac (Blake Ritson) heading for Earth? The potential love triangle between Seg, Lyta-Zod (Georgina Campbell) and Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day)? Hints of Hawkman and Darkseid? Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos)? Doomsday? All of that’s stuck in its own Phantom Zone now.
Clearly the producers didn’t expect Krypton’s premature cancellation. Then again, that’s the risk one makes with serialized television. No matter how far out in advance you plan a series, there’s no guarantee it will continue.
Nevertheless, Krypton isn’t completely gone. As Deadline also reports, The DC Universe already offers the first season. For the series to survive, the streaming service might be Krypton and Lobo‘s last, best hope. For now, though, we’ll just have to contend with its disappointing end, and just as things we’re looking up, too.
dark. Next. Krypton season 2, episode 10 review: The Alpha and the Omega
Keep up to date with Bam Smack Pow for future developments and more TV news. Are you upset at Krypton’s cancellation? Were you hoping to see the Lobo spin-off? Let us know in the comments below!