‘History-making’ TV show with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score disgracefully axed too soon

A TV series that was hailed a ‘masterpiece’ by viewers and critics alike with a coveted 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes has been cancelled after just one season.

While fans are devastated by the news, many are still hopeful that it could be saved, after one of the co-creators revealed a tease of what they are hoping will come in season 2.

Scavengers Reign, an adult animated sci-fi show, premiered in October 2023 on HBO Max in the US, and on Netflix in the UK.

As described on Netflix, the programme follows ‘survivors of a spaceship disaster’ as they ‘navigate an unusual alien ecosystem’.

The critical acclaim that the drama received couldn’t have been more praiseworthy, with reviews describing it as a ‘triumph of imagination’, ‘uniquely thrilling’ and ‘a feat of animation’.

However, Joe Bennett – who created Scavengers Reign with Charles Huettner – revealed in an Instagram post that ‘as of right now, Scavengers Reign is not being renewed for a second season’.

‘I wanted to let everyone know directly because I really love our fanbase, they’ve been such champions for the show, and I don’t want to leave everyone hanging,’ he wrote.

‘We’ve had to fight tooth and nail every step of the way to get this show made, starting all the way back in 2016 with the Scavengers short film to the release of the first season last year.’

Joe emphasised that Scavengers Reign is a ‘case study for believing in something and persevering through a million and one hurdles’, adding: ‘But, it got made, thanks especially to so many people who supported it along the way, in big and small ways’.

Despite the devastation that his announcement sparked among fans of the series, he added that ‘this is not the end’, as they are ready to make a second season, so much so that they created a teaser ‘for what was going to come in the second season’, which he included in his Instagram post.

Several fans expressed their outrage on Joe’s post, as well as stressing just how groundbreaking Scavengers Reign was a show, and how its legacy will undoubtedly continue in the world of animation’.

‘This series will be on the vision board of every animated production for the next 100 years,’ commented Instagram user @capricorpse.

@nachomalter praised: ‘You guys made history, made a masterpiece. A classic that will endure. And for that this fanbase will always be there. Thank you.’

Fan @carat3dcreations said that Scavengers Reign is their ‘favourite sci-fi show of all time’, adding that the teaser they created for a second season is ‘incredible’, and they ‘have faith someone will come along and pick it up’.

‘It’s a crime this was not picked up for second season. Thank you for the treasure of the first one!’ @missmonstermel added, as @keatonmcsweeney wrote: ‘This show is one of the greatest animated stories ever. The fact that it’s not getting renewed is a disgrace.’

In their review, The Hollywood Reporter said that Scavengers Reign was ‘one of 2023’s most stunningly original works of sci-fi, a survival drama less about battling the elements than reflecting on how we engage with them’.

The New Yorker said that the show was a ‘triumph of imagination, using animation to bring wondrously unfamiliar flora and fauna to life’.

Vulture described the drama as ‘uniquely thrilling’ with its ‘animated imagination of outlandish cycles of life and habitats free from tampering’.

Inverse also said that ‘even for all its deeply disturbing twists and overly grim tone, Scavengers Reign is a wonder.’

The publication continued: ‘It’s a feat of animation, a feat of sci-fi storytelling, and by far one of the best surprises of the year. Its enthralling trailer snuck up on us and instantly captured our imaginations — this series will do the exact same.’