Hit show cancelled after two seasons despite Hollywood star lead and rave reviews from critics
A HIT thriller starring Jeff Bridges has been cancelled after just two series.
The Old Man, which also featured John Lithgow, had received rave reviews when series one aired back in 2022, and an impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
It’s return just couldn’t live up to those expectations though and it’s thought that long delays between productions may be partly to blame for the downturn.
The show is based on the 2017 novel by the prolific thriller writer Thomas Perry, and follows a former army intelligence officer, Michael Kohler as he lives off grid after leaving the force in mysterious circumstances.
The series was beset by delays and production problems since it started filming in 2019.
The global pandemic shut down the set after just three episodes were in the can and star Jeff contracted a very serious case of COVID-19 himself.
The Tron star’s health problems sadly didn’t end there as in 2020 he revealed that he was fighting cancer and had been diagnosed with Lymphoma.
Jeff later shared that beating cancer was a “piece of cake” compared to contracting COVID, which he caught whilst receiving chemotherapy.
Thankfully it was announced that the cancer was in remission in September 2021 and the True Grit star was back to work on The Old Man, telling Deadline: “It was great to be back with the gang.”
The FX network premiered series one in June 2022 with the public and critics agreeing that it was a huge success; a series two renewal wasn’t far behind.
Delays once again hit the project though, this time the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood halted production.
The strikes were called in the winter of 2023 by acting and writer’s unions about a host of labour issues including the use of AI in productions.
This all meant that series two didn’t hit screens until September of this year and the fan reaction made it clear the show hadn’t lived up to expectations.
Upon the announcement of the spy thriller being cancelled fans took to socials to share their thoughts.
One said: “Season 2 devolved into a series of epically long personal conversations about completely irrelevant c**p. Did anybody have any idea what the story was?”
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More fans mirrored their disappointment saying: “It started off good but it fell off lost interest” and “It sucked after the first episode.”
But others were upset to hear the news: “Really disappointed to hear this. Such great acting by #thejeffbridges . The show was unique and well done.”