Halo Series Canceled by Paramount After Two Seasons

Paramount+ has canceled the Halo TV series, and its creators will shop the series to other networks. The series, which ran for two seasons, struggled to attain the critical acclaim that the games it was based on got, although Halo's second season was a marked improvement over the original. Despite a dedicated performance from Pablo Schreiber as John-177, the series was never a hit with fans.

“Paramount+ can confirm that ‘Halo’ will not move forward with a third season on the service,” said the streamer in a statement. “We are extremely proud of this ambitious series and would like to thank our partners at Xbox, 343 Industries and Amblin Television, along with showrunner and executive producer David Wiener, his fellow executive producers, the entire cast led by Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief and the amazing crew for all their outstanding work. We wish everyone the best going forward.”

Although the Master Chief's adventures on TV have been cut short, this may not be the end of the series. Various trade outlets such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter hear from sources that Xbox, Amblin, and 343 Industries will shop the series to other networks.

“We deeply appreciate the millions of fans who propelled the Halo series to be a global success, and we remain committed to broadening the Halo universe in different ways in the future,” said 343 Industries in a press statement. “We are grateful to Amblin and Paramount for their partnership in bringing our expansive sci-fi universe to viewers around the world.”

By all accounts, Halo went through a troubled production. The project was originally going to be a movie, which then turned into a series for Showtime, and then ultimately moved to Paramount+. Following the conclusion of its first season, Kyle Killen and Steven Kane, its showrunners, departed the series.

Xbox is reportedly working on a Halo remaster that will also be published on PlayStation consoles. Given the relatively low player count for Halo Infinite, developer 343 Industries was banking hard on the show to rejuvenate interest in the franchise. At one point, you could watch the Halo season 2 premiere for free with Xbox Game Pass, though it seems even that didn't help the series.

At the very least, Microsoft and Xbox have one hit series in Fallout, the second-most watched series on Prime Video. Although not developed internally by Xbox Game Studios, the Fallout license is currently owned by Xbox following its acquisition of developer Bethesda.

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You can watch the two seasons of Halo on Paramount+.