“The OA” is ending after two seasons on Netflix.
The series premiered in December 2016 with eight “chapters” that veered pretty far from traditional TV storytelling — the opening credits didn’t roll until nearly the end of the first episode, and episode length varied from 30 minutes to one hour and 10 minutes. Then, after that first season, fans had to wait two-plus years for the show to return in March 2019.
Created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, “The OA” begins with the reappearance a young woman named Prairie Johnson (played by Marling), who disappeared several years earlier. The ensuing story goes in some pretty wild directions to explain where the previously blind Johnson has been for the past few years, how she regained her sight and why she now calls herself The OA.
I’ve only seen the show’s first season, but it sounds like there was more story to tell after season two. In an Instagram post, Marling said, “While we cannot finish this story, I can promise you we will tell others.” (She also expressed “profound gratitude” to Netflix for allowing her and Batmanglij to make the show.)
“We are incredibly proud of the 16 mesmerizing chapters of The OA, and are grateful to Brit and Zal for sharing their audacious vision and for realizing it through their incredible artistry,” said Netflix head of originals Cindy Holland in a statement. “We look forward to working with them again in the future, in this and perhaps many other dimensions.”
This announcement comes just a couple of weeks after Netflix also canceled “Tuca & Bertie,” “Designated Survivor” and “She’s Gotta Have It.” And while the streamer has revived beloved shows after they were canceled by other networks, it recently found itself at the other side of that equation — it canceled “One Day at a Time,” which was subsequently picked up by Pop.