TV shows these days often try to wrap the bad news of cancellations into good news. In the case of Into The Badlands and The Son on AMC, both shows will be getting final seasons before going quietly into the good night.
In fact, in AMC’s official announcement for the final seasons of both shows, the word cancellation is not bandied about once. Nonetheless, both shows have been axed by the network, although said network graciously is allow Into The Badlands and The Son to wrap up through one final set of episodes.
In the case of Into The Badlands, the show has aired three seasons. When Season 3 was signed on for, the episode count was higher than in previous seasons, landing at 16. Of those 16 episodes, eight have aired so far. Therefore, the show will be concluding with what is being dubbed Season 3B, otherwise known as the final eight episodes.
The Son has not fared quite as well. Ten episodes of the drama starring Pierce Brosnan were commissioned for Season 1. Then, as the show was airing in 2017, a second season was also commissioned. Weirdly, however, we didn’t get new episodes in 2018 at all. So now the second and final season will be airing in April of 2019.
Yes, that means it will be hitting the schedule around the same time as Game of Thrones’ final season. It’s a big year for TV shows ending, in fact. (See also: Big Bang Theory, Gotham, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.)
AMC isn’t being specific about what is leading to the cabler’s cancellations; however, it’s likely ratings were a culprit. The Son was never a huge ratings bringer. Into The Badlands, on the other hand, fares really well when it airs right after the network’s behemoth series The Walking Dead. However, in its regular Monday night timeslot the getting’s not as good.
Cablers have struggled in the wake of peak TV. For every Breaking Bad there’s a Low Winter Sun and with more competition from other cable networks as well as streaming as time goes on, it can get harder and harder to stand out. Into The Badlands did an alright job of it and that show is still getting pulled. It will be interesting to see how similar shows fare in the seasons to come.
That said, in general, Into The Badlands has been a good show for AMC, especially in terms of reviews, and deserves to wrap up in a way that makes sense. Season 3B is expected to hit the schedule on Sunday, March 24 at 10 p.m. ET. Its first episode will follow The Walking Dead, after which the show will switch to Monday nights.
The Son will return on Saturday, April 27 at 9 p.m. ET, only on AMC. You can see what else is heading to TV at midseason with our full TV premiere schedule.
