Why The Purge Was Canceled Before Season 3 - Screen Rant

The Purge (TV series) was canceled ahead of its third season, and there were several reasons behind this decision. While the show had a reasonably sized fan base, it wasn't enough to prevent its network, USA, from cutting it short. Despite the huge success that the film franchise has enjoyed, this doesn't seem to have been the case for The Purge TV show.

The Purge first aired on USA in September 2018 and season 2 finished airing in 2019. While short-lived, the television series, from Blumhouse Productions, explored more of the universe created by James DeMonaco with The Purge movies, which began in 2013. The first movie, which starred Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and Ethan Hawke (Sinister), ended up turning one of Blumhouse's traditional microbudgets of only $3 million into $89.3 million at the box office. This not only proved that horror movies can be highly profitable for studios but also ended up sparking a major franchise that paved the way for other socially-driven and politically-driven horror, such as Get Out and Us, which are also connected to Blumhouse.

Related: How The Purge Movies Troll Modern Society & Politics

To date, there are five movies in The Purge franchise. The Purge (TV series) was less successful, but it was followed by the fifth movie, The Forever Purge, showing that the property is still alive and well. Off the back of the fifth movie, it's possible that Blumhouse Productions will look for other options to continue the television series somehow after its cancelation by USA.

Why The Purge Was Canceled After Season 2

The primary reason for canceling The Purge season 3 was a shift in USA's approach to content. According to the network, they intend to focus more on unscripted programming and other live shows rather than original, scripted series. This could be because these, by and large, haven't done as well for them in the past. While The Purge movies do have a dedicated fanbase, it's possible that this audience didn't translate to a television show, and the ratings and viewership for season 2 proved this after a rather significant decline. The Purge was not the only scripted series canceled by USA around the same time, which solidifies the decision being more of a transition for the network rather than a result of its specific problems, though season 2 was not as highly regarded as season 1.

What The Purge Season 3's Story Could've Been About

The Purge season 2 ended with a resistance faction being formed after the assassination of Esme Carmona (Paola Núñez), who once worked for the NFFA in their surveillance department. Esme went rogue in The Purge season 2 and sought to discover the depths of corruption within the NFFA and their off-Purge kills. For many reasons, this resistance could lead into Election Year and Charlie Roan's (Elizabeth Mitchell) platform to abolish Purge Night and overthrow the NFFA. After the events of Election Year and Roan's victory, there was significant conflict between those who still supported the NFFA and wanted to keep The Purge, and those who believed the violence must come to an end. The Purge TV show could have explored this dissent between sides in season 3, as it finished on another bloody Purge Night; the majority of season 2 showed what life was like for Americans the rest of the year.

How The Forever Purge Works As The Purge Season 3

Instead, The Forever Purge ended up covering most of the plot material and thematic conflicts that The Purge series' season 3 would have. As the name indicates, the story of the fifth movie installment sees a nationalist group calling themselves the "Purge Purification Force" continue Purging even after the designated day has passed, with the intention of continuing to do so indefinitely. While the particular characters and details may not have matched what was planned for The Purge season 3, this was clearly the direction the TV series was headed, meaning the movie essentially gave the series its conclusion anyway.