‘The Old Man’ Season 3 Fate Revealed at FX

FX is not moving forward with a third season of its hit series The Old Man. The cable network has canceled the spy thriller series, starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow, after just two seasons, Deadline confirmed Tuesday. Although FX did not comment on the cancellation, a source told TVLine that while the network “is proud of the show and Season 2 was strong qualitatively,” it struggled to maintain its audience size amid a two-year gap between seasons.

Based on Thomas Perry’s novel of the same name, The Old Man starred Bridges as veteran and former CIA operative Dan Chase who absconded from the CIA decades ago and has been living off the grid since. After an assassin attempts to take his life, he is called back into action. In Season 2, he and former FBI assistant director Harold Harper, portrayed by Lithgow, work to recover Chase’s daughter, Emily after she is kidnapped by powerful Afghan tribal leader Faraz Hamzad. Amy Brenneman and Alia Shawkat also starred.

The Old Man has faced a number of setbacks. The series entered production on the seven-episode debut season in 2019, but was shut down because of the pandemic. The show was delayed a second time after Bridges was diagnosed with cancer.

Despite those setbacks, when The Old Man premiered on FX in June 2022, it was an instant hit. The show became the most-watched cable series premiere since January 2021, and the most-watched FX series debut on Hulu in its opening weekend. Season 1 is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 97% critics score and 78% audience score. The season also picked up a number of award nominations, including an Emmy nod for Bridges and Golden Globe nods for Bridges and Lithgow.

With its early success, The Old Man easily secured a Season 2 renewal. However, Season 2 again faced delays, with fans having to wait more than two years for new episodes to drop due to the WGA strike. Season 2 premiered in September 2024, with the long wait apparently impacting the number of eyes watching the show. The season holds a 64% critics score and 58% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Old Man was created by Jonathan Steinberg and Robert Levine, who also executive produced with Warren Littlefield, Dan Shotz, Bridges, David Schiff, and Jon Watts. 20th Television produced the series in association with the Littlefield Company.