In a fairly unsurprising development, Paramount Plus has canceled its grand Halo adaptation after just two seasons and while most simply won’t be shocked, it’s still a punch in the gut for every franchise fan.
The pain here is twofold. For those who were actually, genuinely enjoying this shonky Halo series (and I won’t blame you for that, really) the problem is clear: There’s no more story coming from a story you liked, which is an endemic in the streaming industry that only continues to get worse.
Then, on the other side of the coin, long-time Halo fans who have played through the franchise’s many stellar video game entries, devoured the books, shows, and comic spinoffs, and have been hoping for a live-action adaptation since as far back as Combat Evolved in 2001, this can only really feel like a dagger. 343 Industries seems eager to keep the adaptation alive, but overall it feels like Halo on TV failed.
That hurts, and not least because any Hollywood executive asked to green-light a blockbuster series or another prestige television run is going to look at Paramount’s not-so-hot attempt, see it crashed and burned, and stamp a huge “NO” on the proposal.
Halo fans on Reddit perhaps captured the feeling best, with many lamenting there “won’t be a next time” after this death knell. Overall though, the Halo fandom actually celebrated the Paramount series’ demise, calling it everything from disappointing to trash, awful, and “a nightmare.” One even wrote, “I hate that I can say I’m happy a big budget Halo show is cancelled, but this show was very disappointing. Such a waste.”
Things got off on the wrong foot nearly immediately in season one, with the biggest complaints from the Halo community focused around the Master Chief—played by Pablo Schreiber—taking off his helmet and later his full kit (which earned him nicknames like “Master Cheeks” and “John Halo”), poor characterization for established heroes, the narrative choice to exclude the titular Halos, and Cortana being a villain. The series did rally to a 7.3 rating on IMDB but barely cracked 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
For those hoping, there’s still a chance for this version of the Halo world, with the show’s producers—which includes Xbox, 343, and Amblin—reportedly still eager to fire a third season on whatever platform will have them. So far though, there’s been little interest in a quick revival of any kind.
“We deeply appreciate the millions of fans who propelled the Halo series to be a global success,” 343 wrote after the news. “We remain committed to broadening the Halo universe in different ways in the future.”
For the time being though, Halo on TV is totally glassed.
