Hilary Swank Reacts After Her Netflix Series ‘Away’ Is Canceled After 1 Season
Netflix isn’t planning another mission to Mars. The streaming service has canceled Away after one season, Deadline reports. The drama, which premiered Sept. 4, stars Hilary Swank as Emma Green, an astronaut who leaves behind her family in order to lead a mission to the Red Planet.
Netflix moves quickly to cancel ‘Away’
Season 1 of Away follows an international crew of astronauts who are making the first manned trip to Mars. Over the course of 10 episodes, the team endures numerous challenges on their trip to the planet before landing successfully in the season finale.
Series star Swank said that appearing in the show gave her the chance to live out her childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.
“I actually wanted to be an astronaut before I wanted to be an actor,” Swank said at a Television Critics Association panel in early August.
“The whole idea of space exploration, something bigger than all of us looking back down at earth and how beautiful it is and how we’re all connected and how there’s no borders. There’s no boundaries,” she added.
Away spent several weeks as one of the top 10 streaming shows in Nielsen’s ranking, according to Deadline. But that wasn’t enough to make Netflix commit to a second season. It is one of several shows the streaming service has recently canceled, including The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Altered Carbon, and The Society.
Hilary Swank reacts to the cancellation of ‘Away’
On Instagram, Swank reacted to Away’s cancellation with a message to the show’s cast, crew, and fans.
“Love and hope will always remain my ‘North Star.’ It was an incredible journey my compadres,” the two-time Oscar winner wrote. “And thank YOU to all my extraordinary followers who watched and supported our beautiful show. Wish we were showing you Mars! Until the next one.”
When one fan said they were “disappointed” to hear the Away was canceled, Swank responded, “Me too.”
Talitha Bateman, who plays Swank’s teenage daughter on the show, also reacted to her castmate’s words. “So grateful I got to play your daughter. You did such an incredible job,” she wrote.
Why did Netflix cancel ‘Away’?
Netflix didn’t explain why it decided to pull the plug on Away. The show appeared to be popular with some viewers, who reacted to the news that there would be no season 2 with messages of disappointment on Instagram and Twitter. But it earned mixed reviews from critics and had a 60% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Deadline noted that Netflix “analyze[s] viewership versus cost” when making decisions about whether to move forward with future seasons of a show. In the case of Away it seems the price tag for the space drama wasn’t worth the number of viewers the show was pulling in.
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