The biotechnology company Dragon is officially closing its doors for good. After two seasons, Netflix has opted not to move forward with Unstable, the workplace comedy series starring Rob Lowe and his son John Owen Lowe. Executive produced by the father-son duo alongside Emmy-nominated Mad About You producer Victor Fresco, the show cast the younger Lowe as the socially shy son of a successful, admired, and, for lack of a better word, unstable biotech company CEO who takes a job at his dad’s research facility to keep him from spiraling after his wife’s death. Mixing humor and family drama with some inspiration from Rob and John‘s real-life relationship, it forced both father and son to navigate personal challenges to avoid disaster and ultimately help the world.
The writing has been on the wall for some time for Unstable as Season 2 didn’t live up to the lofty viewership expectations at Netflix. The new season was released back in August and, in its first weekend, it failed to crack the streamer’s Top 10 chart, scoring less than 1.4 million views. Things didn’t get better in its first full week, with less than 1.3 million viewers tuning in for the second round of episodes. Executives at Netflix value views over cost when considering renewals, a model that has seen more than a few gems cut down well before their time. There was no way to sugarcoat numbers that low in the platform’s eyes, and sources have indicated the producers were already shopping the series before the announcement.
In addition to the Lowes and their creative partner Fresco, Unstable also featured Sian Clifford, Aaron Branch, Rachel Marsh, and Emma Ferreira among its supporting cast. Season 2 experienced some turmoil ahead of its return this year, as it was one of many shows delayed by the dual Hollywood strikes, and it lost Fresco as its showrunner. Andrew Gurland, who previously produced FX‘s Married and co-executive produced Apple TV+‘s Platonic, instead took the reins for the show’s latest installment with Sean Clements also joining him as an executive producer. Reviews specifically highlighted the dynamic between the Lowes as a highlight, giving it a respectable 68% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Netflix Continues to Have a Comedy Problem
Comedy has been a hard genre to crack in the streaming era and Netflix has especially struggled with finding consistent success with its originals. The Ranch was one of the streamer’s biggest wins in the genre for a while with eight ten-episode parts and, more recently, The Upshaws has quietly enjoyed a healthy run that’s set to conclude at 60 episodes with Part 7. Beyond them, however, it’s mostly been a sea of quick cancelations, no matter how strong the reviews were. The most recent victim of that trend was That ’90s Show, the sequel to That ’70s Show which was just axed after two seasons in the wake of glowing reviews and even an appearance on the Netflix Top 10. Its producers, too, are currently exploring options for shopping the series.
Finding a home for Unstable, That ’90s Show, or any Netflix original isn’t the easiest thing either, thanks to limitations from the streamer. However, it’s also not impossible. The One Day at a Time reboot notably found a second life on Pop after its demise in Season 3. Deadline reports that the team behind Unstable reached out to Fox about potentially taking on the series, considering Lowe already has a first-look deal with the network, but that won’t be happening as the company focuses on its own shows.
All seasons of Unstable are currently streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned here at Collider for more as the series searches for a potential new home.
via Collider