Spike TV is leaving some shows behind as it rebrands to Viacom's general entertainment The Paramount Network, and the epic fantasy adaptation "The Shannara Chronicles" is one of those.
Spike, which picked up the show after its first season debuted on MTV, has passed on any possible season 3 following its low-rated sophomore run. "We have officially passed on making any more," Paramount Network president Kevin Kay told TV Guide. "Maybe [Sonar Entertainment] is going to take it somewhere else. For us, we passed on the future of that."
However, its cancellation may not necessarily spell doom for the show. As Kay predicted, Sonar Entertainment, the studio behind "The Shannara Chronicles," is indeed in the process of looking for a new network for the series. According to Entertainment Weekly, it is also being shopped to streaming services that may want to capitalize on the "Shannara's" epic scope. There is no word on the prospective buyers, but it may not be easy to get a season 3 pickup.
"The Shannara Chronicles" season 2 barely drew a quarter of a million live viewers and half a million with DVR playback. As a fantasy series, the show requires a whopping budget for a lot of special effects, but its viewership seems not enough to justify its cost. Fans will have to keep their fingers crossed and see.
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, "The Shannara Chronicles" is based on Terry Brooks' 26-book fantasy saga "The Sword of Shannara Trilogy" and debuted on MTV in 2016. It quickly became one of the most-watched shows on the network, before moving to Spike for a less viewed season 2 that ended in November.
Starring Austin Butler as Will, Poppy Drayton as Amberle, and Ivana Baquero as Eretria, the show chronicles the trio's journey to protect an ancient tree called Ellcrys from releasing all demons back in the realm of the Four Lands. The latest season follows The Crimson, an organization that hunts down magic users, as it uses fear and intimidation to sow discord among the races.
