It often happens that shows seem to be pushed to the wayside and not renewed or continued. However, this phenomenon seems to have increased drastically in the last few years with the uptick in streaming services and the shows on them. When more shows are being produced and shown to audiences, more shows are forgotten by the networks. There is also the problem of the COVID-19 pandemic which is still affecting film and television. Not only were many shows pushed back on the production timeline, but other shows have since been pushed to the forefront, leaving the others to be forgotten.
It seems that the HBO series Avenue 5 has suffered from both of these fates. The show's second season production was pushed back due to the pandemic, and it seems as if the show has almost been forgotten about by its network. Since both of these problems are factors in the delay of the second season, Avenue 5 is facing a bit more of an uphill battle to return to screens, with the first season on HBO Max desperately waiting for a conclusion.
What is Avenue 5 and What Happened to It?
HBO
Avenue 5 can be described as many things, but the most prominent seems to be "space comedy," if you will. The show follows a captain and owner of an interplanetary luxury spaceship, a kind of cruise ship in space which is aptly named Avenue 5. It follows the trials and tribulations of those on the ship but also includes the fun action that comes with a science fiction piece. When things go awry and the ship is thrown off course, the crew must figure out how to get home without dying or killing each other. The show combines great sci-fi elements with hilarious comedy and emotional stakes, and features a wonderful litany of creative talent -- Hugh Laurie, Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Rebecca Font, Jessica St. Clair, Suzy Nakamura, Simon Blackwell, Will Smith (the British comedy writer), and Armando Iannucci.
The first season did not have massive success but had a generally positive reception, along with compliments for the show's unique perspective. It wasn't perfect by any means (unlike its creators other masterpieces, The Thick of It and Veep), but Avenue 5 did develop a very dedicated audience who loved the show and all of its characters. It is unlikely the second season will do much better than the first, but fans want to see it no matter what. The dedicated fanbase that the first season develop want to see what comes next for these characters, even more than two years after the first season was released.
Was Avenue 5 Canceled?
HBO
That's honestly a difficult question. The second season's production was suspended due to the pandemic and that break is obvious. Many shows had suspended production during that period of time due to health and safety concerns. That part makes sense to fans, but the real question is what happened to the show after everything else resumed production. The show has also finished principal filming for the new season (back in November 2021), so that can't be the problem. Considering we are already more than halfway through 2022, we can also assume that editing for the show is done or almost done. So what is the hold up?
That question can't truly be answered but can be theorized. It is possible that HBO thinks the hype for the show has died off and thus doesn't really want to release the show if it isn't going to do well. It is also possible that Avenue 5 has been pushed so far to the back burner of HBO releases that it has basically been forgotten about. It could be a financial situation; Warner Bros. seems to be going through some serious financial problems, having recently scrapped the Batgirl movie and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, despite all of these projects being completely filmed or in late stages of post-production. It can't be said for sure if any of these options are what has happened to Avenue 5, but at the end of the day, fans just want the second season to be released, even if it is the show's last.
Are They Releasing an Avenue 5 Season 2 Anytime Soon?
Sky One
Who knows? Fans can only hope that season two of the show will be released soon but no one can know for sure. The first season was released in 2020 and then immediately renewed for season two. As we all know what happened in 2020, the show's second season was obviously postponed due to the pandemic. However, HBO has continued several shows that were delayed from the pandemic, including Westworld.
It has also been confirmed that members of the cast have signed on to new projects and thus have been released from their contracts; unless season two happens to air and becomes a massive success, it's likely that this is the final season of the show. But will fans ever even see it? As principal photography has ended, the series can be released whenever the great creator Armando Iannucci is ready, and whenever is best for HBO, but it's still entirely uncertain when that will be. Avenue 5 experienced a very odd fate after the pandemic and is now in a kind of limbo, a fate that's not deserving of the massive talent involved in Avenue 5. All fans want is some closure with a final season, but who knows if that time will ever come. In the meantime, the series is available to watch on HBO Max.