Disney-owned cable network Freeform has decided to cancel the show after two seasons. The news follows previous news that Marvel would perform a major leadership change, with film head honcho Kevin Fiege adding oversight of its TV division, among other units. Marvel’s head of TV Jeph Loeb, who developed Cloak and Dagger, is departing and is expected to formally announce his departure before Thanksgiving.
Jeph Loeb oversaw such shows as Cloak & Dagger, Runaways, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (entering its final season), all of Netflix’s now-cancelled “street-level hero” series, the recently scrapped Ghost Rider and the upcoming Helstrom — all as Marvel steers its focus toward Marvel Studios-produced small-screen fare for the upcoming Disney+ streaming service, starting with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Cloak & Dagger starred Joseph and Holt as Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen, a pair of unassuming teenagers who take up the aforementioned crime-fighting monikers upon discovering that it’s their shared destiny to save the city of New Orleans. The show’s cast also included Gloria Reuben as Tyrone’s mother Adina, Andrea Roth as Tandy’s mother Melissa, and Emma Lahana as Brigid O’Reilly, a detective who gained superhuman abilities and became known as Mayhem.
It was based on comic characters from books of the same name and was co-produced by Marvel Television and ABC Signature Studios. Joe Pokaski served as showrunner with Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb also executive producing.
The decision arrives five months after season two of the YA-focused drama wrapped its sophomore season. Ratings for the show were down year-over-year (as is common for pretty much every linear series) and options on the cast were expiring.
“We are so proud of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger and the trailblazing stories this series told,” Freeform said Thursday in a statement. “We are also grateful to our incredible talent Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph for bringing these beloved characters to life, and showrunner Joe Pokaski for his vision. We’d like to thank our partners at Marvel Television for a wonderful two seasons and are we are hopeful that we can find another project together.”
This is the latest cancellation to raise eyebrows from the younger-focused Freeform. The basic cable network recently canceled the Pretty Little Liars spinoff The Perfectionists after one season. That move was considered a big surprise as PLL was Freeform’s brand-defining show. In the time since, the cabler has reinvented itself with more relevant and timely shows like The Bold Type and the Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish.
Freeform’s current scripted roster consists of The Bold Type, Siren, Grown-ish, the Fosters spinoff Good Trouble and the upcoming Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, Party of Five reboot and witchy drama Motherland: Fort Salem.
For Marvel, meanwhile, the cancellation of Cloak and Dagger comes at a time of big changes for the comic book giant. Marvel cancelled FX’s Legion earlier this year and will wind down on ABC’s Agents of SHIELD next year. Remaining Marvel TV-produced series include Hulu’s The Runaways and the upcoming Helstrom and a slate of five animated comedies (and mashup) at the Disney-backed streamer, while the company recently scrapped Hulu’s Ghost Rider series. Looking forward, Marvel’s Disney+ shows — many of which are spinoffs from the MCU featuring their A-list stars — are being overseen by the company’s film division and not Loeb’s TV unit.
Tyrone and Tandy will cross over to Hulu’s Runaways during Season 3, which airs Dec. 13.
NEWLY ADDED PRODUCTS
TOP RATED PRODUCTS
-
GANTZ G TP VOL 02
€12.25
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 22
€10.25
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 18
€12.50
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 25
€14.99
-
ONE PIECE 3IN1 TP VOL 21
€13.99
Gallery
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.