Over two seasons of great sci-fi TV, Raised by Wolves established itself as one of the most bizarre, unique, and intelligent stories in the modern medium. Unfortunately, the series appears to be doomed to end on an unresolved cliffhanger, unless someone or something can provide the series with a much-needed ride to a new home.
The first season of Raised by Wolves premiered only four months after the launch of HBO Max, and became its most-watched program. Despite originally being ordered to series by TNT, the show became one of the flagship properties of HBO's streaming service. The series continued to be successful throughout its two-season run.
For the uninitiated, Raised by Wolves tells the story of humanity reduced to a fraction of its former greatness by an apocalyptic war. Mankind was divided into a dominant religion called the Mithraic and the atheist forces who opposed them. Their war rendered Earth uninhabitable, leaving most of humanity to die. The Mithraic, after claiming a pyrrhic victory, fled the planet for the nearest similar world, which turns out to be Kepler-22b. However, an atheist prodigy seizes a ship, reprograms two androids, and sends them to the newfound planet with several human embryos to raise the next generation. The newly christened Mother, an extremely powerful war machine, and Father, a helpful service android, are tasked with parenting under difficult conditions. When the war follows them to Kepler, strange occurrences threaten to end mankind and signal the rise of something else entirely.
The cancellation of Raised by Wolves was confirmed by the network on June 7th by HBO. This news comes three months after the conclusion of the second season, which was critically praised and extremely popular. The show remains among the networks' most popular shows, leading many to question why HBO would cancel it. Tweets by one of the show's stars, Abubakar Salim (who portrays Father), suggest that the recent merger between Warner Media and Discovery might be to blame. Many fans had suggested that theory before Salim all but confirmed it. A corporate merger is often a messy affair that can lead to the unfortunate loss of many small pieces. The merger likely occurred with the goal of consolidating every marketable IP possible; however, leaving Raised by Wolves on the table feels like a waste. Unfortunately, the show has likely fulfilled its usefulness to the network.
Raised by Wolves' first season was the most expensive streaming TV project ever filmed at the time of its production. That kind of investment doesn't typically go to shows without a marketable name behind it. Ridley Scott's producer credit was mentioned by almost every piece of media for the series, but it was the only assurance that HBO Max had of the series' quality. The fact that the money went to something original, rather than an adaptation of a comic book or a remake of an old movie, is a miracle on its own. The fact that no one forced the team to slap some existing brand name onto the series is stunning. Raised by Wolves stands in flagrant defiance of most of the doomsaying about the current state of franchise filmmaking, and its cancellation should be an example of its downfall. The only reason HBO would put down the cash on a massive risk like Raised by Wolves is to get people to sign up for the streaming service.
It may seem like HBO could just rest on its laurels, but that simply isn't the case. They could just fold their arms and sit on the dragon's hoard that contains The Wire, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Deadwood, and countless other shows, and wait for the subscriptions to roll in. They could just hope people sign up to gain access to blockbuster Warner Bros. films shortly after they're in theaters. Unfortunately for them, neither of these methods reliably keeps new people signing up, nor do they keep existing users around. Most people sign up for streaming services for original content. Netflix would be dead without shows like Stranger Things, and HBO Max is only slightly safer. Raised by Wolves was a signal to fans that the service wouldn't just curate quality content, it would generate new things for the ecosystem. It was a bold flag planted to tell the world that HBO Max takes risks no one else would. And, now that they've accomplished that, they need to move on to the next big show.
The money is all on-screen for this show; it couldn't be made on a lesser budget. With that in mind, it's terribly unlikely that another service will pick up the baton. HBO feels they've gotten all the notoriety they'll get for this weird little sci-fi show, and they're moving on. Whether they're right or not, streaming services believe that audiences demand novelty. Tragically, this dooms some of the most interesting and original stories ever conceived to go forever unfinished. If Raised by Wolves continues, it'll be because of an unheard-of level of fan outcry directed at HBO Max.
For fans who want to see the story concluded, here's the most popular petition for the series' renewal. Fans are also Tweeting with the hashtag #RenewRaisedByWolves. Things don't look good for the story of Mother and Father, and that's a shame, but try to enjoy the small wonder of the show existing in the first place.