LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Paramount+ has announced a list of shows being canceled in 2023. The streaming behemoth has decided to cancel ‘Queens Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies’ after one season and will not renew the animated and kids-centric ‘Star Trek: Prodigy.’ The OTT service has also decided to axe the competition series ‘Queen of the Universe’ after two seasons, and will not renew ‘The Game’ that also aired for two seasons. Paramount+ has also decided to remove all four shows from the platform entirely, which includes all previously aired seasons as well.
Paramount+ is the latest streaming service to make the surprising move to remove content from their platforms so that they can be completely written off as part of cost-cutting measures. The news broke just before Paramount+ incorporates Showtime offerings into its platform in the US. Although, the canceled series may still find a home on some other platform but their tenure at Paramount+ is done.
Why did Paramount+ cancel the shows?
A spokesperson for Paramount+ reached out to The Hollywood Reporter to throw light on the company’s policies regarding these cancellations. He said, “In the unified Paramount+ with Showtime plan, the Showtime portfolio of edgy, critically acclaimed programming will complement the broad and popular Paramount+ library in a seamless offering that appeals to everyone, enables more discovery between the brands, and builds overall viewership.” The spokesperson mentioned that Paramount+ is “refining its content offering to deliver the best streaming experience for subscribers.”
The spokesperson further stated, “The Paramount+ series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, Queen of the Universe, and The Game have completed their runs on Paramount+ and will not be returning to the service. We want to extend our thanks to our tremendously talented cast and crew and our producing partners for their passionate work and dedication to these programs, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.” However, it’s still not ascertained as to how much money will Paramount+ save after canceling the four shows but its decision has received immense backlash from the fans who now want to “cancel” Paramount+ itself.
‘Cancelling Paramount+ just like they canceled Pink Ladies’
The sarcasm was flowing on Twitter in response to the platform's disappointing decision to end four of its shows. One user tweeted, "Cancelling paramount+ just like they canceled pink ladies.” Another wrote, "Cancelled is one thing, but wiping them from existence immediately? I hate that the streaming era has now become the era of total past eradication,” while a third said, “Rise of the pink ladies had great representation and an amazingly talented cast, they really don't deserve being cancelled AND removed…paramount+ is so weird.”
A fourth viewer who was a Trekkie was also distressed about the cancellation of the animated series that was taking the franchise forward. “So Paramount has cancelled the best new Trek it has produced,” while a fifth man threw light on the current business model of the studios, “I really hate this business model. My mom is a big fan of Grease and hasn’t got to have a chance to check out the series yet. Studios: “If it's not as big as Stranger Things, let's get rid of it completely altogether.” A sixth commented, “This is so disappointing. I literally only subscribe to Paramount+ to watch the new Star Trek. If they start pulling and canceling everything, it's a bye from me..”