Of all the streaming services out there today, Apple TV+ is by far the best in terms of supporting creators, unlocking budgets and giving the shows it produces time and space to grow and develop.
It is seen by many as a progressive and nurturing place that encourages new ideas and bold moves.
However, Apple is still a business and a very good one at that, so like its rivals it is also sometimes forced to cut shows that have either reached their natural end or become financially problematic. Even if they have proved popular.
Here are three examples of shows on Apple TV+ that despite so many things in their favour, were sadly cut from the roster.
Constellation
Bringing high concept, hard science fiction to the screen and expecting it to find an audience is always a risky move for a studio. Such a show's sheer complexity can prove off-putting to a casual audience, while the production costs can also be extensive.
This was the downfall of 2024’s Constellation, which failed to make it past a single season, even with the backing of the renowned horror writer Stephen King.
In it, Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) plays Jo Ericsson, an astronaut who, after a catastrophic accident on the International Space Station, returns to Earth to find things have changed in ways she struggles to understand. Themes of life and death, multiverse, simulation, time travel and quantum physics are all explored in a show that ran at a glacial pace.
Intelligent and ambitious, Constellation is an interesting series that really deserved to be given more time to expand and grow. Due to a relatively low audience number and seemingly no chance of this growing if a second series was produced, Apple regretfully decided to end it painfully early.
As always, there is the chance of it being picked up by a different network, but the sheer scale and production costs could be enough to put off potential new homes.
Schmigadoon!
Now and again a TV show comes out that catches the audience by surprise due to its sheer originality. In 2021, Apple brought Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul’s Schmigadoon! to the network and love it or hate it (people really were divided) you cannot call it boring or formulaic.
It follows troubled couple Josh and Melissa (Keegan Michael-Key and Cecily Strong) who, during a relationship-fixing hike through the woods, stumble upon and become trapped in the magical fantasy land of Schmigadoon. It's a land where everything is perfect and people converse through elaborate song and dance musical numbers... Like I said, you will either love it or hate it.
Cue adventure, soul searching and lots and lots of singing.
It was hugely successful upon its release, with the first season met with universal praise for its theming and dedication to the genre – meta but not cynical. A second series followed with the same premise but a new location, although it never seemed to catch on the way the first did.
A third season was written (including 25 new songs) but Apple decided to pull the plug before production could start.
Although the show did have its critics, it absolutely deserved a season 3, and its cancellation was a surprise to many, not least the creators.
The Afterparty
The Afterparty is a high concept, genre spanning, episodic murder mystery that plays out almost as an anthology. A murder at a high school reunion allows for an intriguing premise whereby all attendees are suspects, and a stellar cast makes it compelling viewing.
Each episode is focused on an individual character and cleverly adopts a particular genre (action, rom-com, musical, horror, even cartoon), while the mystery is slowly revealed by Tiffany Haddish’s cop.
Despite glowing reviews, dedicated fan base and a rapidly growing reputation through word of mouth, The Afterparty was cancelled by Apple after its second series. Citing a decline in audience, complications in production and a restructure after the recent writers strike, Apple decided to pull the plug despite producers Lord and Miller having a third season ready to go.
A prime example of how no matter how good a show is and how popular it might be, cancellation is always a looming shadow.
The Afterparty deserved a third season for sure. It was lots of fun (still is) and continued to have great potential.