As one of AMC’s most successful and critically acclaimed shows nears its finish just a few short episodes away, it seems another of the network’s line-up has halted mid-race. Dogged by mixed reception, cancellation, and then revival by AMC and Netflix, season three of “The Killing” promised a quality return with new supporting cast members and a resolved mystery by its end (not to mention strong reviews too). But while the drama delivered both with its recently aired finale, the efforts weren’t enough to carry the show through to a fourth season.
A series eternally conflicted by its methodical pace and withheld narrative beats, “The Killing” has been taken off AMC’s roster for good this time. “We have made the difficult decision not to move forward with a fourth season of ‘The Killing,’ ” said the network’s statement. “We want to thank our great partners at Fox Television Studios, creator Veena Sud, an extraordinary cast and the dedicated fans who watched.” Throughout the drama, its lead detective duo of Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman remained consistently strong (Enos in particular scored an Emmy nomination), while season three additions Peter Sarsgaard and Amy Seimetz led some weight to the show’s final episodes, which delved into a gruesome string of murders on the streets of Seattle.
AMC declined to reveal the reasons for axing the show, but viewers certainly must’ve been a key aspect: the series never again reached its first-season premiere numbers of 2.8 million, and the latest finale only reached 1.5 million itself. Enos and Kinnaman certainly have cinematic careers waiting for them afterwards—Kinnaman has “RoboCop” coming soon, while Enos previously featured in “World War Z” and TIFF entry “Devil’s Knot”—but it’s a disappointingly muted end to a show that held such an intriguing beginning. [EW]
