Why Raised By Wolves Was Canceled After Only Two Seasons

Aaron Guzikowski's "Raised by Wolves" is that rare gem of modern television — a wholly original genre series, critically acclaimed, with a cast devoid of big stars. In an era when adaptations reign supreme and studios put so much stock in name recognition, it's rare for such a show to even be greenlit, let alone given a sizable budget. The strong reviews that the bingeworthy sci-fi show earned over its two-season run remain proof that such experiments can indeed pay dividends. Unfortunately, that experiment, and the series' notable success, was cut short.

"Raised by Wolves" was canceled after just two seasons on HBO in June 2022. Later that year, it was removed from HBO Max, which has since been renamed to simply Max. All of these decisions were made after WarnerMedia, the parent company of HBO, was merged with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery. Under new CEO David Zaslav, many such cancellations and removals occurred. Nearly or entirely completed films like "Batgirl" and "Coyote vs. Acme" were killed to be used as tax write-offs, and already released shows like "Infinity Train" were taken off of HBO Max for the same reason.

"It's not surprising, especially after the news of the mergers and what is happening at Warner, that a lot of shows are not having their stories finished," star Abubakar Salim wrote after the cancellation announcement on Twitter, since renamed X. Still, for the show's many fans, that likely wasn't a very satisfying explanation.

Ultimately, TV show cancellations occur for myriad reasons. Ratings, budgets, actor schedules, and production challenges all play a role, as do the ever-shifting trends of the day. In the case of "Raised by Wolves," though, it's pretty safe to lay the majority of the blame on the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Major shake-ups like the one the company was going through at the time are rarely stable environments in which to make quality content, and it was clear from the start that the new administration was primarily interested in cutting costs.

The same year that "Raised by Wolves" was canceled, Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on several other major sci-fi series, including "The Time-Traveller's Wife" and "Made for Love." As previously mentioned, these cancelations came in conjunction with a wide range of content being removed from the HBO Max streaming library. In August 2022, multiple sources told CNBC that such removals were intended to save the company money — tens of millions, according to the report. This was accomplished through a combination of tax write-offs, whereby unreleased projects could be reported as corporate losses, and the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery would not have to pay residuals to artists who worked on killed projects.

These moves by the newly merged media giant drew extensive criticism from fans of the deleted films and shows, with David Zaslav drawing particular ire as CEO. Unfortunately, the outcry wasn't enough to save "Raised by Wolves."

When "Raised by Wolves" was first announced and Ridley Scott was attached to direct the first two episodes, the buzz was already loud. The series holds an impressive 80% fresh critical aggregate on Rotten Tomatoes across its two seasons and an 81% audience score. In short, it did everything you could ask of a new, unproven science fiction property, but it was in the wrong place at the wrong time looking for renewal.

After the end of "Raised by Wolves" Season 2, Season 3 got the axe, and various members of the cast and crew took to the Internet to drum up momentum for a pickup somewhere else. Streamers like Netflix and Prime Video were known at the time for bringing in canceled programming from elsewhere and funding proper conclusions — a model that worked wonders for other sci-fi shows like "The Expanse." The fans joined in the throng, but no third season came from it in the end.

Sadly, this is often the case with modern prestige series that don't have a built-in audience from source material or name recognition. Genre shows tend to be at higher risk because of their tendency for larger budgets and grander production demands. "Raised by Wolves" remains a fascinating sci-fi saga, even though we'll never know what might have happened next.