Netflix Cancels The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance After Its Emmy Win—Can It Live on Elsewhere?
Photo Courtesy of Netflix TV News The Dark Crystal
What fans hoped wasn’t true (despite over a year of silence from Netflix) came to pass today. As confirmed by io9, Netflix is not renewing the Dark Crystal prequel series Age of Resistance, which just won an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program. (Even though let’s be real, it’s not really for kids).
The series, running just one short season, now ends with the bleakest possible timeline. As told by Netflix, all of the Gelfling we meet during this pivotal time in Thra are eradicated by the Skeksis per the lore of the original movie. Cool, great job Netflix. Or should I say … Skekflix?
We at Paste TV have praised The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance since its release, giving it one of the highest all-time review ratings, ranking its characters , listing it at #3 among the best shows of 2019, and ultimately questioning when Netflix would renew it for a second season. The show was expensive for the streaming service, and required so much craft work regarding its sets and the puppets themselves. But … they’re already built, that money has been spent. Could you not have given us at least a movie to bridge the story from the series to the original film?
No, they could not (or would not). It’s a damn shame, as Age of Resistance was not just a delight but genuinely the most unique TV show on television, made with such incredible care.
As for whether it could live on elsewhere, well, in io9’s story executive producer Lisa Henson said,“We can confirm that there will not be an additional season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. We know fans are eager to learn how this chapter of The Dark Crystal saga concludes and we’ll look for ways to tell that story in the future.” Netflix was once the platform to turn to to save shows, but that is no longer the case. HBO Max feels like a natural home for the story, since HBO already has Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock (including the upcoming revival). However, Disney+ would also make sense with both their Muppet series and the fact that their most popular show—The Mandalorian—revolves entirely around a puppet we’re all obsessed with.
It’s easy to see why fans embraced The Mandalorian’s Baby Yoda—anything Star Wars is always going to hit the zeigeist—but if you just looked a little further on the dial you would find an entire world devoted to practical puppet creatures to both warm your heart and terrify you while going such a wonderful adventure.
We’ll keep updating you on any other developments regarding the series, but for now spare a thought to all of the exceptionally creative folks who brought this story to life. Let’s hope they get the chance to finish this chapter one way or another. Podling justista!
Allison Keene is the TV Editor of Paste Magazine. For more television talk, pop culture chat and general japery, you can follow her @keeneTV
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