Sad news for fans of semi-prestige TV series based off moderately successful cinematic endeavors: Even as their distant cousin Snowpiercer pulls out of the station at last, USA’s The Purge and Treadstone have both found themselves canceled. Per Deadline, both series were axed today due to a “programming strategy shift” at the cable network, which sounds like a fancy way of saying “Mr. Robot is over, and now wrestling is our biggest ratings draw, so later, chumps.”
The Purge, at least, started out strong, with its first season receiving both critical interest and decent ratings. But like the annual murder festival itself, it gradually wore out its welcome, pulling in only half as many viewers in its second season. Treadstone, meanwhile, could never find a hospitable bourne to land itself in, and will be wiped out after only a single season on the air. Developed by Heroes’ Tim Kring, the series starred Jeremy Irvine and Tracy Ifeachor in an era-spanning espionage story that jumped between 1973 and present-day while loosely adapting Robert Ludlum’s conspiracy-heavy Bourne books.
USA will reportedly continue to pursue less scripted content—outside the occasional “eventized” project—in line with current ratings hits WWE Raw and Chrisley Knows Best. The network recently gave green lights to reboots of The Biggest Loser and Temptation Island. They’ve so far resisted the urge to reboot The Purge as a reality series, too, but hey: Times will tell.