Canceled Netflix’s Show’s Star Pushing for Revival: ‘That Story Cannot End There’

Six years after The OA was unceremoniously canceled at Netflix, there is renewed hope for the series to return.

In a new interview on Jo Whiley’s BBC radio show, Jason Isaacs, who portrayed Dr. Hunter Aloysius “Hap” Percy, joined the chorus of voices throwing their support behind The OA, revealing that “there’s no chance for letting it go.”

“Zal [Batmanglij] and Brit [Marling] and I had dinner last week in Los Angeles, and there’s no chance for letting it go,” Isaacs said. “That’s all I can say. Not because I’m keeping secrets from you, but because we will not let it go.”

Bringing together elements of science fiction, fantasy, and the supernatural, The OA, created by Marling and Batmanglij, centered on Prairie Johnson (Marling), who after going missing as a young girl, mysteriously returns with her sight restored. Calling herself “The OA,” or “Original Angel,” she recruits five strangers for a secret mission.

Both well-received by critics and widely loved by fans, The OA launched on Netflix in 2016. However, while the series was originally planned for a five-season run, Netflix canceled the show after the Season 2 cliffhanger finale in 2019, sparking a global fan campaign to save the series. Addressing the cancellation at the time, Marling said she and Batmanglij were “deeply sad not to finish this story.”

Isaacs is not the first person attached to the cast to express interest in bringing The OA back to the screen. Speaking with The Wrap in 2023, Marling said “We think about that story all the time.” Brandon Perea, who starred as Alfonso “French” Sosa, told The Hollywood Reporter the following year that he has a “feeling it’s not over. I think they have a way to continue the story.”

Following the show’s cancellation, Batmanglij revealed The OA’s creators were offered the opportunity to wrap up The OA with a movie, but since three seasons were still planned, it would force us to bring the three [remaining and planned] seasons into one and close it up,” making it an unfitting ending to an otherwise critically-acclaimed show.

While it remains to be seen if The OA will one day return to screens, fans can still watch the first two seasons on Netflix.