Despite popularity among its fan base and continued growth in viewership, the Disney animated series The Owl House will be getting a shortened third season which will also serve as its last. Rumors and speculation have abounded about why this last batch of episodes were being truncated and turned into “specials” rather than traditional episodes and the show’s creator has now offered some answers. Dana Terrace took to the show’s subreddit to answer some questions about the show ending, revealing that the series essentially was given the axe because of one executive at Disney and not from any of the various theories that have abounded online.
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“I wasn’t planning on making a post because it’s too late for a normal s3 pickup and the real reason we were let go is not as exciting as some of the wild theories I’ve seen. But there’s a bit too much misinformation so I hope I can clear stuff up,” Terrace wrote. “Why is Owl House ending so soon? Why was s3 cut? Was it the LGBT+ rep? While we have had issues airing in a few countries (and are just straight up banned in a few more) I’m not gonna assume bad faith against the people I work with in LA.”
Terrace went on to note that while they did have to “tighten their belts” with regard to their budget in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney “just wanted to be done with TOH and this was the perfect chance to do that.” They added, “Even getting the consolation s3 episodes was difficult, apparently. Hard to say, I wasn’t allowed to be a part of any conversations until I was just… Told. Wasn’t even allowed to present my case. LOVE the transparency and openness here (this is sarcasm).”
They further noted that low ratings as a reason for the show’s conclusion “doesn’t hold water” as they had fair ratings for a linear TV series but also the picture of the show’s ratings as a whole was “incomplete.”
They concluded: “At the end of the day, there are a few business people who oversee what fits into the Disney brand and one day one of those guys decided TOH didn’t fit that ‘brand’. The story is serialized (BARELY compared to any average anime lmao), our audience skews older, and that just didn’t fit this one guy’s tastes. That’s it! Ain’t that wild? Really grinds my guts, boils my brain, kicks my shins, all the things. It sucks but it is what it is….In any case, there are still a lot of awesome TOH episodes left to come out, and all the support IS seen and appreciated. Not only does it support the crew but it encourages studios to take bigger risks on shows coming down the pipeline. And, who knows? Maybe there’s a future for the Owl House world if (Disney Television) has different people in charge.”
(H/T CBR)
