The second half of 2023 has been a tough time for television, starting with the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike leaving the fall 2023 TV schedule light on new scripted content. Starz fans saw the network cancel no fewer than three shows earlier in the fall; now, another has been cut after just two seasons. Shining Vale, which brought Courteney Cox back to television as a leading lady, will not return for Season 3.
After Blindspotting, Run the World, and Heels – the last of which ended on a major cliffhanger before news of the cancellation – were axed after two seasons back in September, TVLine now reports that Shining Vale is finished at Starz. A representative for Starz confirmed the news with a statement, saying:
Starz has made the difficult decision to not renew Shining Vale for Season 3. Unfortunately Shining Vale did not find a large enough audience for us to continue, but we hope to have the opportunity to partner with Courteney Cox, Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan in the future.
The statement leaves the door open for co-creators and executive producers Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan to return to the network, as well as star/producer Courteney Cox. The show also starred Greg Kinnear, Gus Birney, Dylan Gage, Merrin Dungey, and Mira Sorvino. Apparently, the viewership just wasn't high enough in the second season for Starz to give the green light for Season 3 of Shining Vale. This is particularly unfortunate in light of the work that had already begun on the third season, as revealed by Astrof in a statement to Variety about the cancellation. The co-creator said:
Given all the real heart-breaking news going on in the world right now, it would be inappropriate for me to say I’m heartbroken about Starz not picking up ‘Shining Vale’ for a Season 3. However, I have no problem saying I am crushed and deeply saddened by the news. For the actors, it has been a year since we wrapped, but I have been working on writing Season 3 up until I heard the news last week.
Jeff Astrof at least knew of the cancellation before the news broke publicly, but he had already made progress on continuing the story of Courteney Cox's Pat Phelps in another season. Of course, cancellation circa 2023 doesn't necessarily mean the end of the road for TV shows anymore, as series can be rescued from cancellation by other outlets and/or streaming services. According to Astrof as his statement continued, this is his hope for Shining Vale. He elaborated:
Okay, maybe I am heartbroken — dammit! Of course, I’m hoping another streamer picks the show up as we still have lots of story to tell — and Season 3 has already been partially written. In any case, I am beyond grateful to have been able to tell the saga of the Phelps for the past two seasons.
It's hard to fault the co-creator for the heartbreak; not only did the cancellation news come just a few weeks after the Season 2 finale aired in early December, but Shining Vale will be removed from Starz's streaming library by the end of 2023. If the horror/comedy isn't rescued a la Magnum P.I. and other shows that got a second life after being axed by their original network, then time is running out to watch the Phelps family.
Of course, Shining Vale isn't alone in being cancelled by Starz this year, even though the news didn't break until months after Heels, Blindspotting, and Run the World. Plus, Outlander and Hightown are both set to end. A new Spartacus series is in the works, however, so this isn't a case of a network cutting all of its scripted content to go in different directions. Unfortunately, the show did end on some major unanswered questions. Writer Kay Reindl took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to say "Sorry about the cliffhanger," which can now only be resolved by the show being rescued or a reveal of what was supposed to happen next.
For now, you still have some time left to stream the two seasons of Shining Vale before the end of 2023. You can also start the plan ahead for the new year with our 2024 TV premiere schedule.
