‘Happy!’ & ‘Deadly Class’ Cancelled By Syfy US
We woke up today to news it was going to be one of “those” mornings, with a string of cancellations in our inbox… The first two come from Syfy US, and sees the wonderfully bonkers ‘Happy!‘ cancelled after 2 Seasons, along with fellow comic book adaptation ‘Deadly Class‘ which is cancelled after 1 Season.
‘Happy!’ starred Christopher Meloni (‘Law & Order: SVU’, ‘True Blood’) as Nick Sax, a corrupt, intoxicated ex-cop turned hit-man, who is adrift in a stinking twilight world of casual murder, soulless sex, eczema, and betrayal. With a hit gone wrong, a bullet in his side, the cops and the mob on his tail, and a monstrous child killer in a Santa suit on the loose, Nick and his world are changed forever… by a tiny, relentlessly positive, imaginary, blue unicorn called Happy! Patton Oswalt (‘The Goldbergs’, ‘Agents Of SHIELD’) voiced Happy!
‘Deadly Class’ was a coming-of-age drama set in a high school… except this is no educational establishment. This is Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the most brutal high school on earth, where the world’s top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. The story is set against the backdrop of late 80’s counter culture, and centres around Marcus Lopez (Benjamin Wadsworth – ‘Teen Wolf’, ‘Dad vs. Lad’), a young boy whose grades suck and is failing ‘Dismemberment 101’. The jocks – who happen to be the children of Joseph Stalin’s top assassin – are hassling his friends, and the girl he’s crushing on has a double-digit body count… At this school, murder is an art, killing is a craft, and the dagger in your back isn’t always metaphorical.
Both of these cancellations seem to be ratings related. Numbers for ‘Happy!’ started off well with Season 1, but dropped off a cliff for Season 2. Ratings were actually better for ‘Deadly Class’, but it is made by an outside studio, Sony Pictures Television, so the threshold for Syfy making money on the series is a lot higher. Sony has said they will be shopping it around to other networks.
‘Happy!‘ aired on Netflix in the UK, and Season 2 was released today. ‘Deadly Class‘ never found a UK broadcaster.
