Netflix Cancels Sketch Comedy Show Astronomy Club After One Season
Main photo by Lisa Rose; mobile photo by Lara Solanki. Courtesy of Netflix. Comedy News Astronomy Club
UPDATE: Fans have created a Change.org petition to save the show. If you want to sign, here’s the link.
Astronomy Club, the hilarious sketch comedy show created by the troupe of the same name, won’t be getting a second season at Netflix. The group’s official Twitter account revealed the cancellation yesterday.
Seems like a good time to mention #AstronomyClub was sadly not renewed by @netflix. Thank you to all the fans who watched! Hoping that more black artists & comedians are given the platform to have voices in the future https://t.co/1yOtbBZQou
— Astronomy Club (@ClubAstronomy) June 3, 2020
UCB’s first all-black house team formed in 2014; they produced a digital-only series for Comedy Central in 2018, before getting a deal with Netflix for six half-hour episodes that debuted in December 2019. In her review of the series, Paste’s LaToya Ferguson called Astronomy Club a “delightful” show that “adds more ammo to the argument that it’s a pretty great time to be a fan of sketch comedy.”
The launch of the Netflix show was the third of three high-profile sketch comedy shows from black creators to premiere in 2019; HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show was renewed for a second season, and IFC’s Sherman’s Showcase is returning this month with a Juneteenth special. Hopefully Astronomy Club will catch on with another network or streamer, just like another prematurely cancelled Netflix show, Tuca & Bertie. Hey, Adult Swim, maybe it’s time to call up the Club?
The six episodes from Astronomy Club’s lone Netflix season are still streaming there, of course. This would be a good time to go check ‘em out.