The Man Who Fell to Earth: Showtime Won’t Order a Second Season

The plot of the series “The Man Who Fell to Earth”will not be updated with new episodes.

Originally commissioned for CBS All Access, now Paramount+ in 2019, The Man Who Fell to Earth is based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel The King’s Gambit, which was adapted into a 1976 film starring David Bowie. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in the drama and plays a new alien who lands on our planet in a role that cannot be compared to that made famous by the late rocker. Naomie Harris, Bill Nighy, Jimmi Simpson, and Kate Mulgrew also star in the series, which was moved to Paramount+’s subsidiary Showtime in March 2021 as the drama better suited the broadcaster’s premium programming lineup.

The Man Who Fell to Earth Won’t Return for Season 2 on Showtime (Exclusive) https://t.co/fiOkL62s87

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 11, 2022

While showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet envisioned the drama as a closed limited series before changing course midway through the production of the first season, Showtime decided not to renew The Man Who Fell to Earth for a second season:

We thank the extraordinary Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, Jon Hlavin and Sarah Timberman who have done such a wonderful job of turning David Bowie’s film into such a resonant story of our time. And thanks to the amazing cast led by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris and Bill Nighy for bringing it to life. Alex and Jenny originally wanted the story of The Man Who Fell to Earth to end. While we toyed with the idea of ​​a second season renewal, we ultimately decided to consider it a well-told one-season story.

No second season of The Man Who Fell to Earth

The decision not to continue producing The Man Who Fell to Earth was made long before the recent management change at Paramount Global, Showtime’s parent company, which resulted in the departure of David Nevins, who ran the portfolio including Showtime, and Chris McCarthy’s backing of the channel. It should be noted, that quality scripted programming was not the main goal of Chris McCarthy, the rising star of the former Viacom. McCarthy oversees numerous networks including MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Paramount Network. (Lieutenant McCarthy, Keith Cox, is the gatekeeper for all of Taylor Sheridan’s shows on the linear and streaming channels.) During his tenure, McCarthy largely removed Comedy Central and other networks from the high-profile screenwriting space.