Paramount+ Cancels Giant Sci-Fi Series After Season 2

Now, to be entirely honest, the news of Halo being canceled isn’t all that surprising due to several reasons being closely tied to production and the series’ narrative. Considering that the series was renewed ahead of the Season 1 premiere, the silent treatment we received following the conclusion of Season 2 was a pretty strong indicator that the series isn’t likely to continue. It’s one of those things you can see coming from a mile away, and the cancelation truly came to be despite many hoping that Paramount would reconsider its position on the matter.

Sources also say that Amblin, 343 Industries, and Xbox are likely to try and land the series at another media outlet for a third season, but considering how things currently stand, there’s very little indication that something like that would take place. Netflix and Amazon have become popular choices for TV shows to get a boost since both companies became known for their top-tier production. But those are also the platforms where releases go to die, sold off by their networks looking to score one last buck on releases they deem failures.

Ratings and viewership matter, and Halo Season 1 was far from a failure. It did well with the critics for its action sequences, cast, and visual effects, but it was also criticized for alteration from the source material.

Gamers, in particular, were very critical of the Halo series, especially since most first-person shooter gamers refer to Halo: Combat Evolved as the game that revolutionized modern shooters. This demographic particularly disliked the humanization of their video game hero, and some are even glad that it was canceled.

However, what the majority of the gaming crowd failed to realize is the fact that the production had to perform a Sisyphean task of translating an interactive gaming experience into a passive watching experience.

And if you ask anyone detached from the Halo franchise, they’d say that Studio Amblin, 343 Industries, and Xbox did a really good job with the adaptation. Season 2 was even better, as it provided much more action led by John-117, which the audiences felt they deserved.

Season 2 is superior to Season 1 in every way, and its production value, paired with a better understanding of the lore surrounding the Spartans and the Halo universe, appeased even gamers—who are notoriously difficult to please when it comes to their favorite content.

So, while it should come as no surprise that Halo was canceled, especially in light of Paramount’s cost cuts inspired by financial difficulties—it should also come as no surprise if some other media outlet decides to pick up the series for another season.

Source: Deadline