The Old Man, an acclaimed series starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow, has been canceled by FX after just two seasons.
Although the show was warmly received by critics and garnered strong ratings in its first season, the second run of episodes failed to capture the same numbers.
There was a two-year delay between seasons as production was delayed by the summer 2023 Hollywood strikes.
The first season had previously been hit by its own postponements, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 75-year-old Bridges’ battle with cancer.
Now the show has reached the end of its difficult road and will not be renewed for a third season, reports a report in Deadline confirmed this week.
The Old Man was based on a 2017 novel of the same name by thriller writer Thomas Perry about a retired CIA agent who retreats to a life off the grid.
The Old Man, an acclaimed series starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow, has been canceled by FX after just two seasons; Bridges photographed in the second season
When the first season hit the airwaves during the summer of 2022, it earned the highest ratings of any season premiere on cable since January 2021.
However, the second season, which arrived two years later thanks to the Hollywood strikes, failed to reach the audience of its predecessor.
The long gap between the two seasons is believed to have contributed to the decline in ratings between them, as fans were less likely to be able to maintain their interest in a relatively new show for such a long period off the air.
Bridges stars in the series as Dan Chase, the new pseudonym of former CIA member Michael Kohler, who lives in seclusion in Vermont.
Lithgow plays Harold Harper of the FBI, who worked with Chase/Kohler as a spy in Afghanistan during that country’s war with the Soviet Union.
The Wire actor Gbenga Akinnagbe appeared as hitman Julian Carson, who Harold Harper recruits to assassinate Dan Chase.
Also among the regular cast were Arrested Development alum Alia Shawkat, NYPD Blue star Amy Brenneman, and The Leftovers actor Bill Heck.
Meanwhile, recurring players included names like Succession actress Hiam Abbass, Suspiria star Jessica Harper and cabaret icon Joel Grey.
Bridges, who announced her cancer diagnosis in 2020 before revealing the following year that the disease was in remission, is pictured at the CMA Awards in Nashville last month.
The Old Man was based on a 2017 novel of the same name by thriller writer Thomas Perry about a retired CIA agent who retreats to a life off the grid.
John Lithgow plays Harold Harper of the FBI, who worked with Chase/Kohler as a spy in Afghanistan during that country’s war with the Soviet Union.
There was a two-year delay between seasons, as production was paralyzed by last summer’s Hollywood strikes.
Also among the regular cast were Arrested Development alum Alia Shawkat (pictured), NYPD Blue star Amy Brenneman and The Leftovers actor Bill Heck.
The Old Man began production on its first season in 2019, but was shut down with just three episodes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Bridges himself suffered a near-fatal attack of the disease.
Then, in October 2020, Bridges announced on Twitter that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which he battled well into the following year.
In September 2021, he revealed that his cancer was in remission, writing on his website: “This brush with mortality has brought me a true gift: life is short and beautiful. Love is all around us and available at all times.’
The Old Man premiered on FX in June 2022, achieving ratings success, a second season renewal, and a warm response from the critical fraternity.
However, the second season was delayed by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which caused union productions in Hollywood to shut down until an agreement was reached.
In the end, the second season was only able to premiere in September of this year, getting only eight episodes until the end of October.
The second season ended on a cliffhanger, but when Bridges was asked in October if a third was in the works, he said cryptically. The Hollywood Reporter: “I don’t know, the program hasn’t been picked up yet.”