‘Castle Rock’ canceled: Could another streamer save the show?

Castle Rock canceled at Hulu; the Stephen King horror anthology will not return for a third season.

Unfortunately for fans of the Stephen King series Castle Rock, Hulu has decided not to move forward with another season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. With Castle Rock canceled at Hulu, it marks the end of a brief King tide at the streaming service. The anthology joins his Hulu series, 11.22.63, in the cancellation pile — although at least that show was considered a miniseries.

The psychological-horror drama was set in the fabled town of Castle Rock, which King aficionados recognize from his book series. While an anthology, the series served as a fascinating King multiverse that combined elements and characters from his most popular book series.

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Season 1 featured an original story alongside a compelling cast, including Bill Skarsgard, Melanie Lynskey, Jane Levy and Sissy Spacek. In Season 2, Lizzy Caplan came onboard to play Annie Wilkes in a plot based on Misery.

The Disney-owned streaming service kept fans waiting on renewal news for over a year, as the second season started streaming last October.

It’s a shame they waited so long only to discover the show had been axed. Hulu gave no reason, but it could be that the pandemic and production costs affected their decision. Another reason Hulu might have chosen to end the show is due to producer J.J. Abrams teaming up with Warner Bros. TV for Overlook Hotel, a series that will serve as a spinoff of The Shining, at HBO Max.

Castle Rock canceled: Could another streaming service save it?

Considering we live in an unprecedented era of storytelling where dead shows always have the potential to return, one has to ask if it’s possible that another network could save Castle Rock. To be honest, I haven’t heard of any premier streaming service rescuing another before. We haven’t seen Hulu save any Netflix Originals or vice versa. It’s not impossible, as we saw Pop TV save One Day at a Time, but, sadly, it’s not super likely.

Are you disappointed by Castle Rock’s cancellation? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

The first two seasons of Castle Rock are available to stream exclusively on Hulu.