Following two seasons, Raised By Wolves was abruptly cancelled. Here are some possible reasons why HBO Max may have made this decision. Raised By Wolves offers all the essential elements of a captivating sci-fi series—high concept drama, thought-provoking plotlines, and gorgeous visuals—with an extraordinarily imaginative world at its centre. The speculative storytelling and theological overtones of Raised By Wolves are a long cry from the typical genre clichés, but this high-risk commitment to originality and creative integrity has allowed it to receive some incredibly positive reviews from both critics and audiences.
Sadly, HBO Max has confirmed that they will not be go through with a third season of Raised By Wolves despite earning favourable reviews. The abrupt discontinuation of the show is unexpected given its positive ratings as well as the scalability of its extremely expansive world-building. The conclusion of Raised By Wolves season 2 also left viewers with a lot of open-ended inquiries that were probably left unanswered for future narrative developments. For instance, it is still unclear what the thing on Kepler-22b wants, and even Marcus’ fate is still a great mystery. The termination of Raised By Wolves is disappointing because it leaves several obvious loose ends untied.
Raised By Wolves season 3 walked the plank, as suggested by the show’s star Abubakar Salim in a series of tweets (via Twitter), partly due of the current merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia. The Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate has moved quickly to implement some significant changes, such dropping CNN+ from its client list and stopping the development of newly produced TNT and TBS programming. Raised By Wolves probably ended up being eliminated as a result of the purging that took place following Discovery’s merger with Warner Bros.
The cast and crew of Raised By Wolves were apparently all set for a second season, making the cancellation of the show all the more devastating. Raised By Wolves marketing poster showing the human and android cast of characters Salim said that “we have a fully fleshed out and planned storyline, a Goliath of a production team behind us, great reaction from critics and reviewers alike, and most significantly, a community following that is so powerful internationally” along with the cancellation of the project. Showrunner Aaron Guzikowski also affirmed that he hasn’t stopped writing for Raised by Wolves and that he still lives in the show’s universe in an interview (via Collider). The fate of a TV show is mostly determined by external circumstances, even when it is evident that the cast and crew of the series love it.
For instance, it typically takes two to three seasons for some of the most intriguing sci-fi dramas, such as Raised by Wolves, The OA, and Sense 8, to establish their footing and lay the groundwork for their imagined universes. High-concept, aesthetically pleasing dramas typically require significant financial investments, which may not always be in line with their overall revenue and viewership. This was probably a contributing factor in the cancellation of Raised By Wolves. Nevertheless, streaming services frequently struggle to keep up with them.
Even if Raised By Wolves has little possibility of returning on HBO Max, it might eventually be picked up by another streaming service. The future of the programme is still unknown, but Abubakar Salim, who plays the father in Raised by Wolves, claimed that Scott Free Productions is actively looking for a new location for the programme. In order for potential streamers to understand the appeal of the show and potentially give it another go in the future, the Raised By Wolves star has also urged viewers to express their affection for it.
