Nothing is ever certain in the world of showbiz, and few shows are ever safe from cancellation unless they're ratings giants or lucky enough to score multi-season renewals in one go. Sadly, we now know of one more show that has gotten the axe. Elijah Wood's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency has been cancelled by BBC America after two seasons. Season 3 will not happen.
News of the cancellation comes only days after the airing of the Season 2 finale, which is now officially the series finale. It may be for the best that fans did not learn that the show wouldn't be back until after the finale. At least viewers were able to enjoy the episode without thinking about the fact that it marked the end of the story. The cancellation happened despite fan attempts online to rescue the series, which BBC America acknowledged in a statement released in confirmation that the end had come. This is the message BBC America shared with fans of the show:
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency brought together an incredible group of talented, creative people to make something truly original that celebrates how weird and wonderful the universe can be. We are so proud to work with the writers, producers and actors who created this brilliant world. We've seen your passionate social campaigns for another season of Dirk Gently and we regret to say that Season 2 will be the last season on BBC America. We have been so inspired by your rowdy imagination, your wild passion and whip-smart humor. We've tweeted with you every episode, watched you make incredible fan art and most importantly, build great friendships. Dirk Gently fans aren't just great fans, they're great friends, too. You'll continue to find connections, overcome great obstacles, make amends, help others, and create your own family of weirdos, chosen or not. Thank you, Dirk Gently fans, for everything.
All things considered, the cancellation doesn't come as too huge of a surprise. While Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency did have a loyal group of core followers, it never gained a large audience. Season 2 averaged less than 250,000 viewers per episode, with an unfortunate 0.07 in the key 18-49 age demographic. Those numbers mark a drop from around 280,000 viewers and an 0.09 demographic rating on average from the first season. For shows on major broadcast networks, drops of mere decimal points and tens of thousands of viewers wouldn't be a very big deal. For this BBC America series, the drops in ratings and viewership did not look good.
Based on the works of author Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency followed Dirk Gently himself (Samuel Barnett) and his friend/sidekick Todd (Elijah Wood). Dirk favored investigating cases that were obscure, with a focus on the inter-connectivity of everything and anything. There were CIA twists in the mix, a fictitious disease, and a killer cast. The cancellation undoubtedly comes as very sad news for fans.
For what you'll be able to watch sooner rather than later now that Dirk Gently has come to an end, check out our 2018 midseason TV premiere guide and our 2018 Netflix premiere schedule. Many others series got the axe over the past year, and you can see them in our breakdown of 2017 TV cancellations.
