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Syfy renews Killjoys for two final seasons, but cancels Dark Matter

Syfy renews Killjoys for two final seasons, but cancels Dark Matter

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At least we’ll get to follow the adventures of one starship crew

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Image: Syfy Channel

The Syfy Channel announced today that it will end its science fiction show Killjoys after two additional seasons, the first of which will air next year. At the same time, the network canceled its other space opera show, Dark Matter, which just wrapped up its third season last week.

Killjoys was created by Lost Girl creator Michelle Lovretta, and follows a trio of bounty hunters who work for a guild called the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC) in a four-world system known as The Quad. The group is led by Dutch (played by Hannah John-Kamen), an experienced RAC Agent with a secret past. She’s joined by the Jaqobis brothers, Johnny and D’avin, as well as an assortment of other characters who live throughout system. The show’s third season finale airs tonight, and the fourth season is set to air at some point in 2018.

Loveretta noted that having 20 episodes to wrap up the story is “the kind of privilege every creator hopes for.” It gives her the opportunity to wrap up the story on her own terms. Over the course of the three seasons that have aired thus far, Killjoys has set up a vibrant, exciting, and complicated world, and knowing that the show’s creators will have the opportunity to close it out is a welcome one.

Image: Syfy Channel

This news is bittersweet: it won’t be joined by the network’s other space opera show, Dark Matter. This is unfortunate, because the show’s creator, Joseph Mallozzi, plotted out a five-season story arc that followed the crew of The Raza. In the show’s first season, they awaken to learn that they’re wanted criminals after losing their memories, and work to figure out their place in the galaxy ruled by megacorporations and warlords. Its cancellation likely means that we won’t get to see what he had in store. It’s eerily reminiscent of the time that Syfy abruptly canceled his other space opera show, Stargate Universe. In a blog post, Mallozzi noted that he was “incredibly disappointed” by the news.

Syfy declined to comment on the cancellation.

What I appreciated the most about both Killjoys and Dark Matter was that they were a throwback to the types of science fiction shows that I really love watching, like Stargate SG-1, Firefly, or Farscape, as opposed to the network’s more serious offerings like Battlestar Galactica or The Expanse. But, while they were lighter in tone than their more prestige-aimed counterparts, both contained their own share of serious subject matter around identity, trauma, and loyalty. While we’ll get to follow one crew to the end, it’s bittersweet, given that the other will be left hanging.