Alan Ball Drama ‘Here and Now’ Cancelled After One Season by HBO

HBO has cancelled freshman drama series Here and Now.

The network broke the cancellation news to Deadline, but praised creator Alan Ball‘s work on the show in the same statement. They also alluded to the fact that they are open to future projects from the acclaimed producer.

“After careful consideration we have decided not to move forward with a second season of Here and Now,” HBO said in a statement. “We thank Alan for his dedication to innovative storytelling, and we look forward to his next endeavor.”

This cancellation signals a rare misfire for Ball, especially when it comes to his TV collaborations with HBO. He had previously created Six Feet Under and True Blood for the network, and they became some of the networks greatest achievements to date.

Here and Now was in a different lane than those shows, as it was a family drama that tackled topics like race and mental illness. The show’s cast included Tim Robbins, Holly Hunter, Jerrika Hinton, Raymond Lee and Daniel Zovatto.

The show recently wrapped up its first season on April 15, bringing the show’s total episode count to 10 installments.

The cancellation is somewhat surprising, but not a total out-of-left-field move by HBO. The show was an 86 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but only a 24 percent ratings from critics.

Ball and Here and Now‘s cast have not yet commented on the cancellation.

Viewer reaction to the cancellation was mixed. Some detractors were happy about the show ending, but others were left very disappointed.

“Are you kidding me?” one fan wrote. “I just binged watched the first season.”

A less-supportive viewer countered, saying “Good news. Deserved the cancellation, worst TV show in 2018 so far.”

This was a rare cancellation for HBO. They recently renewed Crashing and High Maintenance. They are also developing numerous spinoffs based in the Game of Thrones universe, which are expected to fill the void left when the core series concludes in 2019.

All 10 episodes of Here and Now are currently streaming on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and other streaming platforms partnered with HBO.

Photo Credit: HBO / Ali Paige Goldstein