Uncoupled is finding new life thanks to Showtime. The series, which was created by Sex and the City's Darren Starr and Jeffrey Richman, stars Neil Patrick Harris as Michael, a New York City realtor whose partner of many years (Tuc Watkins) breaks up with him just before his surprise 50th birthday party, leaving Michael to deal with being a single man in New York's fast-paced gay dating scene. The series underperformed, premiering at No. 6 and only remaining on the Top 10 for one week, and was cancelled by Netflix after just one season.
However, per Deadline, Showtime will be taking the reins and officially renewing Uncoupled season 2. This is part of a move by Showtime to showcase more diverse series as they begin to merge with fellow streaming service Paramount+. This news also comes just one day after it was announced that the Showtime limited series Ripley starring Andrew Scott would be coming to Netflix, so this is almost something of a swap.
The Changing Landscape Of Streaming Explained
Once upon a time, Netflix was known as the home for revivals of series that networks unceremoniously cancelled, including Lifetime's You (which is now a huge hit for the platform) and Fox's Lucifer. As recently as last year Netflix was still doing this, renewing NBC's puzzle box thriller Manifest for a fourth and final season. However, their reputation has slipped recently, with their One Day at a Time reboot being picked up by Pop TV as well as this Uncoupled news.
The show being ping-ponged between services is a reflection of the strange and fragmented landscape of modern television. Last year featured the first quarter where Netflix's subscriber numbers dropped, forcing them to tighten their belts. Other less popular streaming services like NBC's Peacock have reported even more dismal losses, with some like HBO Max scrapping nearly finished projects like the DCU's Batgirl and others cancelling shows that were already given renewal notices or series orders, like Peacock's Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec series Dead Day.
This is perhaps due to the sheer amount of services asking for monthly subscriptions, forcing audiences to pick and choose where they want to stream. Whatever the cause, it is resulting in unpredictable and sometimes callous fates for quite a few beloved series. While Uncoupled has survived, not every show has been quite so lucky.
Source: Deadline