Hap & Leonard Canceled By SundanceTV After Three Rollicking Seasons
Sundance TV After three seasons on SundanceTV, Hap and Leonard wont be getting another ..
Sundance TV
After three seasons on SundanceTV, Hap and Leonard wont be getting another kick at the East Texas can, it seems
The cancellation of the James Purefoy and Michael Kenneth Williams led series based on Joe R. Lansdales nuanced and rollicking 1980s set novels of two mainly unlucky Lone Star state buddies misadventures came today from the AMC owned net.
“It has been an honor to share the adventures of Hap and Leonard with SundanceTV viewers,” a spokesman for the station told Deadline on Monday. “We thank the talented cast and crew who brought Joe Lansdales stories to life including John Wirth, Jim Mickle, Jeremy Platt and Linda Moran — and the extraordinarily talented Michael K Williams and James Purefoy. We aired three successful seasons of the show and are proud of the topics and relationships it explored.”
With race, sexuality, family, corruption, faith and that often undiscussed subject of the American class system among those topics explored on the noir-ish series since its March 2, 2016 debut, Hap and Leonard became the highest rated original series in Sundance TVs history. Part of that allure was the great dynamic between Rome alum Purefoy and The Wire vet Williams in their portrayal of the two very different blue collar middle age pals. Stumbling into detective work of sorts, the three seasons of six episodes each drew from Lansdales Savage Season, Mucho Mojo and The Two-Bear Mambo books.
Not long after Season 3 ended on April 11, Lansdale began an ultimately unsuccessful social media effort to save the show:
HAP AND LEONARD FANS. Help us be renewed. We have no idea what SUNDANCE wants to do, but we would like them to know what we would like them to do. Write then directly and tell them you need your HAP AND LEONARD. NOW!
— Joe Lansdale (@joelansdale) April 16, 2018
Today, the author voiced his loss with the end of the series:
Hap and Leonard officially canceled. Sundances highest rated show, 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Three Seasons wraps it up, dudes. It was an honor to have worked with the folks on the show, actors, crew, writers,… https://t.co/WJvpfDJEhl
— Joe Lansdale (@joelansdale) May 15, 2018
Executive producer Jeremey Platt also took to social media on Monday night, as did co-creator Jim Mickle and showrunner John Wirth:
Goodbye #HapAndLeonard @HapAndLeonard… pic.twitter.com/poez7xWEyQ
— Jeremy Platt (@JeremyPlattform) May 15, 2018
#HapAndLeonard fans,
Its true. Our show has come to an end. Thank you thank you thank you for watching, re-watching, caring, engaging and calling for more. We loved every minute of making it, even when it drove us nuts. It means the world that you loved it too. /1
— Jim Mickle (@Mickle_Jim) May 15, 2018
.@HapAndLeonard Thanks @SundanceTV @jamespurefoy @bkbmg, @joelansdale, cast, crew, producers, writers, directors and especially our diehard FANS for 3 seasons of Hap and Leonard. We will not be back.
— John Wirth (@WirthwhileTV) May 15, 2018
In the end, it was Hap and Leonard itself that perhaps said goodbye best, at least online:
Thanks to the incredible cast and crew of #HapandLeonard for three unforgettable seasons….and a special thank you to the fans! pic.twitter.com/sNvsAPzRLU
— Hap and Leonard (@HapAndLeonard) May 15, 2018
