Paramount+ Cancels Show Despite Initial Renewal

The reasons why women kill will no longer be explored on Paramount+. The streamer canceled Why Women Kill, the acclaimed anthology series from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, after two seasons. The decision is a shocker since the show was renewed for a third season in December 2021.

"Paramount+ has made the difficult decision not to move forward with Season 3 of Why Women Kill," a Paramount+ spokesperson told Variety on Friday. "We would like to thank our partners at CBS Studios and Imagine Television Studios, the amazing creator and showrunner Marc Cherry, and the incredible writers, cast, and crew for two memorable seasons."

Why Women Kill was an intricate series from Cherry, with each season dealing with different time periods and characters. In the first season, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Liu, and Kirby Howell-Batiste played three different women who are driven to kill because of infidelity in their marriages. They each lived in different decades, only connected by the same Pasadena mansion. The first season debuted in August 2019, before CBS All Access was rebranded as Paramount+. 

Season 2, which debuted in June 2021, scrapped the multi-generational format and was set entirely in 1949. Allison Tomlin starred as a housewife, hoping to join a garden club, no matter the cost. Lana Parrilla, B.K. Cannon, Matthew Daddario, Nick Frost, and Veronica Falcon rounded out the Season 2 cast. Although both seasons earned good reviews, the show failed to attract awards attention. The show will finish with 20 episodes, all of which are still on Paramount+.

Cherry created the series and served as executive producer and showrunner. Executive producers included Imagine's Brian Grazer, Acme Productions' Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis, Marc Webb, Samie Kim Falvey, Francie Calfo, and David Warren. CBS Studios produced the series with Imagine Television Studios. Paramount+ never shared plot details for Season 3.

While Why Women Kill was killed itself, Paramount+ has renewed several other originals in recent months. In February, the streamer renewed The Game, a revival of the BET/The CW series. The new show centers on a Las Vegas pro football team, and stars Wendy Raquel Robinson, Hosea Chanchez, Adrian Rae, Vaughn Hebron, Analisa Valez, and Toby Sanderman. Halo, based on the hit video game series, was also picked up for a second season. Paramount+ is also home to Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan's latest projects, including 1883, 1923, 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, and Lioness.