Streaming Services Keep Canceling Shows After One Season. Even Big Names Like Sarah Michelle Gellar Aren’t Escaping The Ax Now

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Paramount+'s Wolf Pack
(Image credit: Paramount+)

Too many shows seem to be getting canceled these days. Last year was yet another harsh one for shows, especially when it came to cancellations by Netflix and other streamers, like Paramount+. And this year is beginning to look like the same, as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Teen Wolf spinoff, Wolf Pack, has officially been canceled by Paramount+ after one season. It is the latest series with big star power to get the ax, and it’s as troubling as ever.

Deadline reported the disappointing Wolf Pack news, stating that while the drama never really got the green light for another season, production would have started in February. From Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis, the series followed four people who were drawn together under a full moon after a California wildfire awakened the supernatural. Alongside Gellar, Armani Jackson, Bella Shepard, Chloe Rose Robertson, Tyler Lawrence Gray, and Rodrigo Santoro starred in the show. 

Wolf Pack, which can be watched with a Paramount+ subscription, is the latest one-season series to get the boot, and unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last.

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Other heartbreaking cancellations came from shows with big names attached when Kiefer Sutherland's Rabbit Hole was axed after one season, and when Disney+ canceled American Born Chinese, which starred Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. 

Aside from streaming, shows with major star power like the Niecy Nash-led The Rookie: Feds got canceled by ABC after one season, with news being announced not long after the actors’ strike came to an end. Supernatural prequel, which involved Jensen Ackles, The Winchesters was canceled by The CW, as well as the Walker prequel Walker: Independence. It’s hard to get attached to a new show and new characters from beloved actors these days when you don’t know how long the show will be around. But, unfortunately, there’s no way to predict whether it will be renewed or canceled even when a show has a major name attached to it like Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The cancelation epidemic has been seemingly nonstop, whether streaming or not, no matter how popular or how long a show has been on. It seems the reason for some cancellations is part of cost-cutting efforts, as many streamers had to do a content purge last year in order to save money and re-evaluate their library. While a definitive reason for Wolf Pack’s cancellation wasn’t given, Paramount is one of the bigger companies trying to save money amid a rumored merge, so that might have something to do with it.

As with any show, there is always the possibility that Wolf Pack will be picked up elsewhere, especially since there is still so much more story to tell. Shows getting canceled is always upsetting, but it’s even more troublesome when it’s only after one season, because the series didn’t really have as much time to dig into the stories and characters, and sadly the Sarah Michelle Gellar-led show is facing this reality. 

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.