The fate of The Outsider is up in the air.

HBO debuted the first season of the series, which adapted the Stephen King novel of the same name. When HBO picked up the series, the original pitch included a guide for extending the show beyond the events of King’s original book. However, HBO has now officially opted not to continue with the series.

“We enjoyed our collaboration with Richard [Price], Jason [Bateman], Andrew [Bernstein] and the MRC team, and we wish them well in continuing the world created by the brilliant Stephen King,” HBO said in a statement to Deadline.

But if you’re an Outsider fan, don’t give up just yet. There’s still hope for a season 2 on another platform. MRC, the studio behind the series, will pitch the series to other premium networks and streamers. That’s no guarantee of a second season, of course. But it’s worth noting MRC has a longstanding relationship with Netflix; they collaborated on House of Cards and Ozark.

“We thank HBO for a great partnership in the first season and for helping to bring in a massive audience who fell in love with The Outsider,” said MRC Television President Elise Henderson. “We are looking forward to finding a new home for this remarkable series. 

During its run on HBO, The Outsider steadily grew its audience throughout the airing of the first season. While the premier attracted 1.2 million viewers, the finale pulled in 2.2 million. It also became the network’s most-watched first-year series in the last three years.

About A (Potential) Season 2

Cynthia Erivo in 'The Outsider'

The first season of The Outsider covers the full events of the original novel. However, series writer/executive producer Richard Price reportedly crafted the second season storyline with King’s blessing. The story would focus on Cynthia Erivo’s character Holly and explore “the human, naturalistic and inexplicable with a sustained pervasive dread you can’t put your finger on.”

Earlier this year, some speculation surfaced that King’s latest collection of stories, If It Bleeds, could turn into a new season of The Outsider. That book contains four novellas, one of which focuses on the character of Holly.

Source: Deadline