TV show cancelations are never easy, especially if they're sudden, leaving plenty of unanswered questions. Unfortunately, this is the case for Outer Range, which has not been renewed for a third season, despite there being plenty of question marks.
The Josh Brolin-led series will end after two seasons, meaning we won't see any more from Royal Abbott and the endless mysteries that keep happening in and around his ranch. Unless, of course, it's picked up elsewhere and I can only hope that's the case because I'm going to miss it terribly.
It's a shame to see such a unique series canceled at Prime Video. Outer Range combined sci-fi, thriller and Western elements to create an intriguing story with lots of mystery. Outside of that, this combination of genres made for some truly gorgeous cinematography, with some picturesque landscapes and an ominous feeling throughout, something I haven't really experienced since Westworld, which also blended the sci-fi and Western feel beautifully.
Outer Range's future as it stands is currently unknown, with news of the cancelation only just being confirmed at the time of writing. We can only hope that it will be picked up elsewhere, especially since we have praised the series since its season two announcement.
Why was Outer Range canceled?
While a reason for the cancelation has not yet been confirmed by Prime Video, it's disappointing news, as Variety reports that: "Amazon does not release viewership information for their shows, though Outer Range did make it into the Nielsen Top 10 original streaming rankings, peaking at the number three spot in the week after its premiere."
So there was clearly a lot of interest in the series, which also marked the first TV project for Brolin in 20 years, last appearing in Into the West in 2005. While he did provide narration for the documentary series Mankind: The Story of All of Us and Thanos' voice in What If...?, it was Outer Range that was his first major small screen project and a welcome return.
Season two ended on a pretty frustrating note, too, leaving the door open for a season three that might never happen. In the season two finale, we saw plenty of twists and turns including more about the hole that appeared on Royal's ranch, and some mind-bending time travel stuff. It got so crazy that one of the top questions on Google is "what the heck was Outer Range about?", which to be honest, is a fair one!
People's confusion about the time travel plot makes the cancelation even more annoying, though, as we may never get answers to what's going on here. What is going on with strange new arrival Autumn? Did Perry replace himself with a different version of himself by means of time travel? There's so much that could be explored in season three and potentially beyond, so as it stands we don't have a satisfying ending for one of the best Prime Video shows.
With a great supporting cast including Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor and Tom Pelphrey, I'm devastated we may not learn any more about these characters. Hopefully, there'll be some clarity on the reasons behind Outer Range's cancelation, but until then, the first two seasons can be streamed on Prime Video.
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