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In what appears to be the season for cancelations, it was recently announced that American Gigolo will not be returning to Showtime for a second installment. The series is one of the many which stands canceled by Showtime. Commenting on the decision to not renew the show, the network has said,
“We can confirm that American Gigolo will not move forward with a second season on Showtime. We are grateful to our partners at Paramount Television Studios, the producing team, cast and crew for their tremendous efforts to bring this series to life.”
The series is based on the 1980 feature film of the same name and has aired only one season on the network, which concluded in October.
American Gigolo is a present-day reimagining of the iconic 1980 film and follows the story of Julian Kaye, who was wrongfully convicted. The series chronicles his life following his release from prison after 15 years and sees him navigate his complicated relationship with his former lover Michelle, his troubled mother, and the people who betrayed him. The project was produced by Paramount Television Studios and aired on Showtime.
Why is American Gigolo and many other series being canceled by Showtime?
It has been announced by Paramount Global that Showtime will be integrated into Paramount+ across both streaming and linear platforms later this year.
Following this news, word of the cancelation of a number of shows, including American Gigolo, started making the rounds online, and it has finally been confirmed that the series will no longer be returning to Showtime after the merger. Showtime has been re-evaluating its programming slate over the past several weeks under its new top executive Chris McCarthy, and the move comes as a result of much consideration.
The new and merged version of the channel will be named “Paramount+ with Showtime”, and Showtime's streaming content will be pulled into the Paramount+ service. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish has announced that the company,
“will divert investment away from areas that are underperforming and that account for less than 10% of our views. We have already begun conversations with our production partners about what content makes sense moving forward and which shows have franchise potential.”
Status of other Showtime series
Along with American Gigolo, Showtime will also not be proceeding with the brand-new series Three Women, starring Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise, and Gabrielle Creevy, even though the series has been completed.
The network has also decided not to pick up season 2 of the freshman drama series, Let the Right One In, which stars Demián Bichir. Commenting on the cancelation, a Showtime representative said in a statement,
“We are extremely proud of this series and of the outstanding work by Demián Bichir, Madison Taylor Baez, Anika Noni Rose, our showrunner Andrew Hinderaker and his fellow executive producers, and the entire cast and crew. We would like to thank all of them and our partners at Tomorrow Studios, and we wish everyone the best going forward.”
Along with news of the cancelations, Showtime has also greenlit other high-profile upcoming scripted series, including Ripley and King Shaka, which are currently in the post-production stage.
