Paramount+ Cancels Two TV Shows, Including One With 100% on RT From a 41-Year-Old Franchise

The consolidation of Paramount and Skydance Media marks one of the most significant corporate realignments in the entertainment industry this year, and the ripples of this merger are beginning to be felt across the company’s programming slate. As the studio integrates its operations under new leadership, a rigorous review of all assets and ongoing productions is underway to streamline costs and prioritize profitability over the sheer volume of content. This restructuring has heavily impacted the “TV Media” division, where executives are aggressively cutting costs and reevaluating the long-term viability of original series hosted on the Paramount+ streaming service. Now, this restructuring has resulted in the termination of two animated series attached to some of the studio’s most valuable intellectual properties.

Paramount+ has officially canceled its animated reboots of Dora and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles series, a spinoff of the critically acclaimed 2023 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, will conclude with its upcoming second season. Dora, a CG-animated revival of the massively popular preschool show Dora the Explorer, has also been ended after being renewed earlier this year. Both shows are produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios, which was recently consolidated into a larger TV Media division as part of the company’s restructuring.

Read Next

10 Best Shows on Paramount+ to Binge in One Weekend

For fans, the cancellations come with the small consolation that already-produced episodes will still be released. The second and final season of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is set to premiere on Paramount+ in December before airing on Nicktoons next year. The fourth season of Dora is scheduled for release on a yet-to-be-disclosed date, with a subsequent linear airing planned for Nick Jr. A fifth and final season of Dora has already been produced, though information on how or when it will be released has not yet been made available.

Is There Hope for the Cancelled Shows?

The end of the road at Paramount+ may not be the final chapter for these two franchises. In a significant shift from the streaming wars’ exclusivity-focused model, Paramount is now actively looking to license its content to third-party services. This strategy of selling shows to other platforms, including rivals, is becoming an increasingly common practice across the industry as media companies seek new revenue streams and wider audiences for their content. This approach opens a viable path for both Dora and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to find a new home and potentially continue.

There is a particularly strong case to be made for the survival of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The series currently holds a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating universal critical acclaim. Furthermore, the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is experiencing a massive resurgence in popularity, largely driven by the box office and critical success of Mutant Mayhem. That film reinvigorated the 41-year-old property with a fresh tone and art style, which the canceled series directly continued. With a sequel to Mutant Mayhem already in development, another streaming service could see the value in acquiring the well-regarded series to capitalize on the franchise’s momentum.

Will you be watching the final seasons of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dora? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!