‘The Endgame’ Canceled: Season 2 Isn’t Happening

NBC is bidding adieu to the drama series The Endgame. The heist drama, which stars Morena Baccarin and Ryan Michelle Bathe, is ending after one season. Written by Nick Wooten, the show is a high-stakes thriller about Elena Federova (Baccarin), with Deadline describing her as a “very recently captured international arms dealer and brilliant criminal mastermind who even in captivity orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists, and Val Turner (Bathe), the principled, relentless and socially outcast FBI agent who will stop at nothing to foil her ambitious plan.”

Also rounding out the cast were Kamal Angelo Bolden and Costa Ronin. Additionally, Noah Bean, Jordan Johnson-Hinds, and Mark D. Espinoza had key roles. It’s unclear why the series was not picked up for a second season.

Bathe spoke with Shadow and Act ahead of the show’s premiere and explained how the role challenged her as an actor. “I like the idea that there were two really strong, wonderful women who had these very interesting characters and an interesting dynamic between the two of them,” she told Shadow and Act in a recent interview. “And I also really did like the idea of being able to do something that was a challenge for me and that no one’s ever seen me do including me.”

She expanded upon how she had to dig deep during filming, as she’s used to having the support of multiple actors on a set. The Endgame was different. “I’ve always been able to rely on an ensemble of people, and I’ve been very lucky and blessed to have these incredible partners in crime,” she said. “This was very challenging to do.”

More than anything, Bathe was happy to have time to figure out life outside of work. The COVID-19 pandemic gave ger a chance to reconnect and reconfigure with her longtime husband, Sterling K. Brown. Before having to be shut in due to the pandemic, she admits they had their own roles. Things changed once quarantine began.

“Because I’m the mom, I’m the woman of the house. I run the house and I’ve abdicated my throne. And there is a new sheriff in town with Sterling and I don’t always like the way the new sheriff does things,” she says. “And I can’t come home and regulate right now. It’s not my job anymore. And I’m so used to regulation…It’s a new world for Sterling and I. We’re both busy and one of us is away from home.”

The show isn’t the only one not picked up for another season. The network also canceled Mr. Mayor and Kenan. They did, however, renew Law & Order and Law & Order: Organized Crime, as well as the comedy series Grand Crew.