Facebook Watch Cancels ‘Sorry For Your Loss’ And ‘Limetown’ As It Scales Back Scripted Content
Facebook Watch is pivoting to unscripted content. The tech giant’s streaming service has just cancelled two of its most acclaimed series in a scaling back of its scripted titles in favor unscripted shows. The acclaimed Elizabeth Olsen-starring dramaSorry For Your Lossand the Jessica Biel seriesLimetownboth got the axe.
Deadlinereports that Facebook Watch has cancelledSorry For Your LossandLimetownin its first push to scale back scripted content. The podcast adaptationLimetownseems like it won’t be picked up anywhere else, however, the critically acclaimed dark comedySorry For Your Lossmay be being “shopped around,” according to Deadline.Sorry for Your LossandLimetownwere both strong cases for Facebook Watch as a viable streaming entity.Limetown, based off a podcast of the same name, was executive produced by star Jessica Biel and featured a star-studded cast that included Stanley Tucci, Omar Elba and Sherri Saum. The series was met with mostly positive reviews, but not nearly the level of acclaim thatSorry For Your Lossdid, with Elizabeth Olsen in particular earning praise for her portrayal of a young widow struggling to put her life back together.Sorry For Your Lossalso allowedStar Wars' Kelly Marie Tran to prove her dramatic prowess, at least farmore thanThe Rise of Skywalkercould ever dream of doing.
Facebook does not reveal ratings data, but Deadline reports thatSorry For Your Lossdidn’t do too shabby on the numbers side either, with increased viewership in season 2 and “strong retention from episode to episode.”
But these two cancellations are just the first in Facebook Watch’s pivot to unscripted programming, which have been the service’s most popular originals, like the Daytime Emmy-nominatedRed Table Talkwith Jada Pinkett Smith andReturning the Favorwith Mike Rowe. And while Facebook Watch still has several scripted series in the pipeline that will be released as planned, Deadline reports that “Facebook is leaving the scripted business.”
This news doesn’t come as a total surprise, as Facebook Watch scripted series didn’t gain the same traction as originals on giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, or newcomers like Disney+ or even Apple TV+. It’s a move that fellow tech giantYouTube made about a year ago, making the move from scripted to unscripted with the exception of hit series likeCobra Kai. But as the streaming field becomes even more crowded in the coming months, Facebook Watch and its bad video player didn’t stand a chance.
