While we’ve known for months now that the coronavirus pandemic likely means certain shows and features will never get off the ground, we’ve also now entered a phase in which previously-ordered projects will be permanently set aside, too, due to the mounting toll of COVID-19 on the entertainment industry. According to Deadline, on Friday, Netflix canceled their YA shows The Society and I Am Not Okay With This after one season apiece.
The Society, a mystery series from Christopher Keyser that follows the teens of West Ham, Connecticut after an inexplicable event causes the rest of the world (not to mention their parents) to disappear, was renewed last July and had reportedly hoped to start filming this fall. I Am Not Okay With This, a dramedy based on the titular comic by Charles Forsman about Sophia Lillis’s angsty teen Syd discovering she has telekinesis, had not officially been renewed, but Deadline reports the show had “quietly picked up for a second season, scripts were written, and it was fully on track to go into production.â€
“We’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with second seasons of The Society and I Am Not Okay With This,†the streaming platform said in a statement. “We’re disappointed to have to make these decisions due to circumstances created by COVID, and we are grateful to these creators, including: Jonathan Entwistle, Christy Hall, Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen and Josh Barry at 21 Laps Entertainment for I Am Not Okay With This; Chris Keyser, Marc Webb and Pavlina Hatoupis for The Society; and all the writers, casts and crews who worked tirelessly to make these shows for our members around the world.â€
Per Deadline, while both shows were well-received, “uncertainty around production dates and balancing the availabilities of a large cast like The Society, coupled with unexpected budget increases due to COVID,†factored into the decision.