'Aquarius' season 3 cancellation news: David Duchovny period drama axed by NBC after two seasons
NBC has cancelled "Aquarius," the period/crime drama starring "The X-Files" star David Duchovny.
The series, which was set in Los Angeles in 1967, followed Duchovny's Sam Hodiak, a fictional Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detective tasked with investigating the case of a missing teenager (Emma Dumont). Along with Officer Brian Shafe (Grey Damon), an undercover narcotics cop, Hodiak finds out that the missing teen is with the Manson Family.
"Game of Thrones" alum Gethin Anthony played the fictionalized role of Charles Manson. The cast of "Aquarius" also included Claire Holt, Madisen Beaty, Ambyr Childers, Cameron Deane Stewart, Michaela McManus, Chance Kelly, and BrÃan F. O'Byrne.
The drama, which premiered in May 2015, was picked up straight to series. Entertainment Weekly notes that NBC attempted to generate hype for the show's freshman season by adopting a Netflix-like model and releasing all 13 episodes at once. After airing its series premiere, NBC put all 12 remaining episodes online for four weeks. "Aquarius" became the first broadcast series to be streamed in its entirety after its season premiere.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Aquarius" showrunner John McNamara previously spoke of his vision of having the drama run for at least six seasons.
"I planned out the show in terms of six seasons, and every season is approximately six months," he told the outlet prior to the show's series premiere. "If you Wikipedia Manson, he was doing stuff, some of which we portray in the show, and some of which we are making leaps and connecting dots ourselves. He was not inactive. He's a psychopath and we do not shy away from that."
However, at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour this year, NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke said that the chances of the series being renewed were "tough."
Shortly thereafter, NBC sounded the death knell for "Aquarius" when it moved the series from its original Thursday night timeslot to the Saturday night dead zone.
Variety reports that some of the "Aquarius" actors were released from their contracts several months ago.
While the cancellation of "Aquarius" will certainly disappoint its fans, it will at least free up Duchovny for another season of "The X-Files," which is rumored to be in development.