Counterpart series creator Justin Marks announced some sad news for fans of Starz’s sci-fi espionage show as the network has decided it will not renew Counterpart for a third season, turning Sunday’s upcoming season finale to a series finale.
Counterpart starred J.K. Simmons as Howard Silk, a low-level government employee who discovers his organization safeguards an entry point into a parallel universe. Its then he meets a toughened version of himself from the parallel universe, who is a spy attempting to catch rogue operatives who have crossed over. As a shadow war between the two universes rages on, the only man Howard can trust is literally himself.
“It’s been an absolute dream for this team … we got to make exactly the show we wanted to … perfect cast, perfect crew on two continents … and we’re so grateful to our network for the time we had,” said Marks. “Thank you to everyone who made this journey so special for us. Your tweets, podcasts and intricate conspiracy theories have made it all worthwhile. Fingers crossed that our wonderful studio, MRC, can find a way to keep the dream alive!”
Despite some very positive critical reception and a cult following, season two has only averaged about 500,000 viewers per episode. Another factor which contributed to its cancellation is the fact that Lionsgate is now Starz’s parent company, making the network double-down on Lionsgate produced content. Since Counterpart came from another studio, filmed in two continents, had a big cast and an expensive licensing fee, it didn’t seem viable for Starz and Lionsgate to renew the series.
“Justin, Jordan, J.K. and the entire cast and crew delivered a beautifully executed series. It was a pleasure working with this team on two seasons of expert storytelling brought to life by best-in-class performances across the board,” said Carmi Zlotnik, president of programming at Starz.
There is a chance, though, the series will be picked up for a third season elsewhere. Media Rights Capital, the series’ production company, has begun shopping the series around to other outlets. As has happened with recent series like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Expanse, we’ll have to see if Counterpart will find a new home soon.
At The Office of Interchange, those who have high enough access safeguard a crossing into a parallel dimension not unlike our own. And if their world is like ours, who are we over there? Are we better? Are we different? Season Two finds Howard (J.K. Simmons) and his counterpart living out these questions. With the Crossing closed and each of them stranded in the other’s world, they have to adapt for survival. Howard Prime takes on his other’s life: going to his job, living in his home… with his wife. Howard Alpha is locked in a mysterious black site known as Echo, cut off from everyone he knows. As a cold war escalates between worlds deepening a fickle divide, both men find themselves growing increasingly like their other.
