On the same day that the tenth and final episode of season one of Mr. Corman, its creator and star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, announced that the show had been cancelled. On Twitter yesterday, Gordon-Levitt posted “So, Mr. Corman won’t be coming back for season 2. It’s meant so, so much to me to hear from you all who connected with the show — those who felt good, felt sad, felt challenged, felt seen, felt small and meaningless, or felt big, warm, and delicious. Thanks for watching,” ending his Tweet with a heart.
Mr. Corman debuted on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 6th with its first two episodes, dropping one installment every Friday after that. It starred Gordon-Levitt as fifth-grade teacher Josh Corman, who is plagued by anxiety and a sense of apocalyptic dread that manifests itself in crippling visions. Its irreverent approach included dance sequences and a starkly different focus for each episode, including one half-hour that retitled the show Mr. Morales, shifting to spotlight Josh’s roommate Victor Morales, played by Arturo Castro. The cast also included Debra Winger, Logic, Alexander Jo, Juno Temple, Jamie Chung, Shannon Woodward, and Hector Hernandez.
The cancellation of this show is notable since it’s only the second time that the relatively new streamer has axed a show. Two months ago, Little Voice, a music drama starring Brittany O’Grady, was cancelled almost a full year after it finished its run. Making a swift decision on Mr. Corman comes as a bit of a surprise given the wealth of programming that Apple TV+ has put out recently and continues to create. The Hollywood Reporter cited sources who said viewership numbers were lower than other programming.
Apple TV+ recently achieved the distinction of winning a top Emmy award – for Best Comedy Series – in its second year of existence for the extremely popular Ted Lasso. Other hit shows renewed by the streamer include For All Mankind, The Morning Show, See, Servant, Dickinson, Little America, Mythic Quest, Trying, and Physical. The network recently premiered musical Schmigadoon! and the sci-fi epic Foundation, and has also ventured into original films, with the Sundance award winner CODA debuting in August and A24’s The Tragedy of Macbeth coming early next year.