Ridley Scott’s “Raised by Wolves” has been canceled after two seasons at HBO Max, Variety has confirmed.
Originally ordered to series at WarnerMedia-owned cable channel TNT in 2018 before landing at HBO Max ahead of its series premiere in September 2020, the sci-fi drama centers on two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task.
“While we are not proceeding with a third season of Raised by Wolves, we are beyond grateful to the stellar cast and crew, our creators Aaron Guzikowski, Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and the entire team at Scott Free Productions, for their beautiful artistry and unique ability to immerse fans into the world of Kepler-22b,” HBO Max said in a statement to Variety Friday.
When “Raised by Wolves” was renewed for a second season soon after its premiere, HBO Max said it was the top performing HBO Max original since the platform’s launch four months prior. The second season premiered Feb. 3.
“Raised by Wolves” stars Amanda Collin as Mother, Abubakar Salim as Father, Travis Fimmel as Marcus, Niamh Algar as Sue and Kim Engelbrecht as Decima. Additional cast members for Season 2 include Winta McGrath, Jordan Loughran, Matias Varela, Felix Jamieson, Ethan Hazzard, Aasiya Shah, Ivy Wong, Peter Christoffersen, Selina Jones, Morgan Santo, James Harkness, and Jennifer Saayeng.
The series was created by Aaron Guzikowski, who executive produces along with is Scott and his Scott Free Productions banner, David W. Zucker (“The Man in the High Castle”), Jordan Sheehan (“The Terror”), Adam Kolbrenner (“Prisoners”) and Mark Huffam (“The Martian”). Scott directed the first two episodes of “Raised by Wolves” Season 1, marking his television series directorial debut for American audiences.
The cancellation of “Raised by Wolves” comes at a time when many changes are afoot at HBO Max’s parent WarnerMedia, which was sold by AT&T and combined with Discovery to create Warner Bros. Discovery. The new regime, led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav, has shaken many things up in just over a month of ownership, including scrapping streamer CNN+ and shutting down production of new scripted series at TNT and TBS.
Salim first shared the news that “Raised by Wolves” was in danger earlier Friday, writing in a series of tweets: “It’s not surprising, especially after the news of the mergers and what is happening at Warner, that a lot of shows are not having their stories finished. And unfortunately, one of those shows is Raised by Wolves. Nothing has been publicly shared yet. And there is a reason for that. An important one. One which I’m here to share with you now. There is hope. You see, we’re in a unique position: we have a fully fleshed out and planned storyline, a Goliath of a production team behind us, incredible reception from critics and reviewers alike, and most crucially, a community base that is so strong internationally, it can not be ignored. The reason the cancellation hasn’t been announced, and that’s because there’s still a chance the story can continue, and be finished at a new home. This is where you all come in.”
The “Raised by Wolves” star went on to request fans be as vocal as possible about their hopes for a third season, in an attempt to help Scott Free shop the show to another platform for a potential third season.