EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is not proceeding with a third season of Unstable, its comedy series starring and co-created/executive produced by Rob Lowe and his son John Owen Lowe.
The news, which I hear has been relayed to the crew, is not surprising because Season 2, which debuted Aug. 1, failed to break into the Netflix Top 10, meaning that it drew fewer than 1.4M views in its opening weekend and fewer than 1.3M views in its first full week. Netflix executives base their renewal decisions on viewing vs cost.
According to sources, the producers had already been quietly shopping the show. As Deadline has reported, finding a new home for a Netflix original is tricky as it comes with a lot of limitations, making a linear network the most realistic option. This is what happened with One Day At A Time, which moved to Pop post-cancellation, with That ’90s Show producers believed to be taking a similar approach as they are mulling shopping the That ’70s Show sequel.
Rob Lowe has close ties to a linear network, Fox, where he has a first-look deal and hosts and executive produces the game show The Floor, in addition to starring and executive producing departing drama 9-1-1: Lone Star. I hear Unstable was pitched to the network but will not be going there. Fox already has comedy plans, and it has been putting an emphasis on series it owns, so a new show with Lowe under his deal appears more likely.
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Unstable, co-created by Rob Lowe, John Owen Lowe and Victor Fresco, follows an introverted son (John Owen Lowe) who goes to work for his very successful, wildly eccentric father (Rob Lowe) in order to save him and his successful biotech company from disaster. It was inspired by Rob and John Owen Lowe’s social media relationship, in which John Owen often humorously trolls his dad.
The cast also includes Sian Clifford, Aaron Branch, Rachel Marsh and Emma Ferreira.
The eight-episode second season, which — like many other shows — was delayed by the strikes, had a new showrunner, Andrew Gurland, who replaced Fresco. Rob Lowe, John Owen Lowe, Gurland and Sean Clements served as Season 2 executive producers.
While original comedy series continue to be challenging for streamers, with Unstable joining the recent Netflix cancellation of sophomore That ’90s Show, there have been a handful of successes as Netflix recently renewed its new comedy breakout Nobody Wants This for a second season as well as stalwart Emily In Paris for Season 5.
There has been no official word on Girls5eva but the writing has been pretty much on the wall for the Peacock transplant whose first Netflix season debuted in March. Like Unstable S2, it did not crack Netflix’s Top 10 though it landed two Emmy nominations.