Apple TV+ Cancels Another Major Show

Apple TV+ has canceled a number of high-profile shows over the past, including Central Park and The Afterparty. Now the streamer has axed another major show, after two seasons. The primetime Emmy-winning series Schmigadoon!, featuring Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key, will not be back for Season 3 at Apple TV+. The news was first shared by series co-creator Cinco Paul, who took to Instagram to let fans know about the cancellation.

“I am sad to share that Apple will not be moving forward with Season 3 of Schmigadoon! The season is written (including 25 new songs) but we unfortunately won’t be making it. Such is life,” Cinco wrote. “I want to thank everyone involved with the show, our incredible cast and crew and writers, our wonderful supporters at Broadway Video, Universal and Apple, for everything they did to make it happen. It’s a miracle we even got two seasons, honestly, and I’m so grateful we did.” He then added, “And to all the fans of the show out there, thank you with all of my heart. Your love and support has meant so much, and the fact that you connected with our show, that it brought you some joy, means the world to me. This was tough news to get, but the optimist in me is convinced it’s not the end of Schmigadoon… and maybe it’s even a happy beginning.”

Schmigadoon! debuted in 2021 and starred Strong and Key as Melissa Gimble and Josh Skinner “a couple from New York, both doctors, who become trapped in magical musical theatre settings and learn lessons about love and happiness.” In Season 1, the two are stuck in the world of Golden Age musicals, like Oklahoma! and The Music Man. For Season 2, Melissa and Josh find themselves in the Fosee-esque “Schmicago,” inspired the darker and edgier musicals of the 60s and 70s. In addition to Strong and Key, the show’s cast also features Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, Martin Short, Aaron Tveit, Tituss Burgess, and Patrick Page.

Ahead of Schmigadoon! Season 2, PopCulture.com had a chance to speak with Paul, and he shared about the direction they chose to go and why. “We had such a wide variety of musicals to take from. In Season 1 we’re working with a palette of Rodgers and Hammerstein, basically, and a little bit of Music Man. I think maybe the parody or the satire or whatever you want to call it, is a little clearer when you’ve got Godspell and Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar in one section of town, and then you’ve got Chicago and Cabaret in another, and then Sweeney Todd and Annie and Oliver in another. So it’s a wide variety of musicals, right? The musical theater just exploded in this era. So much variety. I think because of that, it was really fun to play with Andrew Lloyd Weber, sort of rock musical, but then also get to do Sondheim and Kander and Ebb. All over the place.”