That cancellation/renewal time of year has come again, and the fates of many shows will soon be decided. While some series will score renewal orders, we now know one more that has gotten the axe. Hulu has cancelled The Path, which starred Aaron Paul and Hugh Dancy, after three seasons. It will not return for Season 4.
The Path premiered in March 2016 to critical acclaim, and it brought Aaron Paul and Hugh Dancy back to the small screen. Aaron Paul left regular live action TV gigs behind for a while after the end of Breaking Bad in 2013, and Hugh Dancy was fresh off the end of Hannibal on NBC. The Path gave both actors the chance to try something new, and it scored a renewal for Season 2 before Season 1 even ended. Hulu seemed pleased with the show's continued performance as it handed down a renewal for Season 3 on the exact same day the Season 2 finale debuted.
Unfortunately for fans, the Season 3 renewal was to be the last. The Path is officially at an end after three seasons and 36 episodes. Hulu doesn't release viewership numbers to the public, so we can't say precisely how many people tuned in on a regular basis. Whatever the number, it must not have been enough for Hulu to want to continue the series to a fourth season. According to THR, The Path creator Jessica Goldberg expressed gratitude for being able to "tell challenging and emotional stories for three seasons in this very strange and unique world."
There's truly no denying that The Path was set in a strange and unique world. While it wasn't set in a dystopian reality a la fellow Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale, The Path did center on a family enmeshed in a cult movement, and things got pretty intense over the seasons. Season 3 came to an end back on March 28, so the season finale is now officially a series finale.
Aaron Paul took to social media to share his thoughts on the cancellation, posting this on Twitter:
While Aaron Paul is obviously bummed that The Path was cancelled by Hulu, he's also clearly grateful for his time on the show. The Path did enable him to show off his acting chops in a role other than Jesse Pinkman, and Eddie Lane is just about as different from Paul's character on BoJack Horseman as is imaginable. The Hulu series showed off more of his versatility, and it's nice to know that he's not bitter at the cancellation.
You can catch all three seasons of The Path streaming now on Hulu. The streaming service has plenty of other exciting projects in the works, including the Stephen King story-based Castle Rock, George Clooney's Catch-22 adaptation, and the second season of The Handmaid's Tale. For some non-streaming viewing options, swing by our summer TV premiere guide.
