After being rescued from MAX, Deadline reports that Starz has canceled the original comedy series Minx for second time. After being canceled during the production of its second season by HBO as part of a cost-cutting initiative in 2022, the series was acquired by Starz. Though the series was critically successful, it failed to secure a large audience, and rumors of the show’s cancellation in December proved to be accurate.
The series was largely critically successful and won positive reviews from The New York Times, The Guardian, and Variety. Additionally, the series boasted a 93% rating over both seasons on Rotten Tomatoes.
Still, the show’s failure to find a large audience ultimately caused the decision. The linear airing format by Starz led the series to average less than 100,000 viewers per episode.
Last month, Deadline reported on Jake Johnson’s (New Girl, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Let’s Be Cops) perspective on the series’ chances of renewal. He references the strain caused by the change from HBO to Starz and how the SAG-AFTRA strikes impacted the promotion of the series and the show’s viewership.
“I think the move to Starz, I think HBO kind of doing their HBO thing, or HBO Max, whatever it’s called now, I think that was brutal for [the show]. Then, I think the strike came out right as we were trying to promote it…My guess is you can’t beat something up that many times and keep going,” Johnson said via Deadline.
Similar to HBO’s position in 2022 when they made the decision to cancel Minx the first time, Deadline reported last month that Starz executives have been trying to move away from comedy series as they feel they have been unsuccessful with their network.
Minx was a series praised for its originality, inclusion, and celebration of the female gaze, and its cancellation will surely be deeply disappointing for it’s fans.