Why Netflix Canceled Rob Lowe's Unstable After Two Seasons

TV can seem fickle at times, particularly in the streaming era. One moment, you're binge-watching your new favorite show, and the next, it's gone. Plenty of shows have been canceled before their time was up, but knowing that this form of entertainment is a business and these decisions are made with business in mind never makes the pill any easier to swallow. Case in point, those who enjoyed Rob Lowe's "Unstable" on Netflix are surely not happy to know that season 3 isn't happening.

"Unstable" centers on universally admired eccentric biotech entrepreneur Ellis Dragon (Rob Lowe), and season 2 sees him lay out a series of challenges and mind games for his son Jackson (John Owen Lowe) to see if he can become the heir to the Dragon empire. Lowe co-created and co-starred in the show alongside his real-life son, adding a meta layer of reality to the whole thing. The series cast also included Fred Armisen ("Portlandia"), Sian Clifford ("His Dark Materials"), Rachel Marsh ("Before We Go"), and Lamorne Morris ("New Girl").

Just two months after the show's second season debuted, it was canceled by Netflix. Deadline revealed at the time that "Unstable" failed to break into the streamer's top 10 charts, which all but assured the cancellation was coming. It garnered fewer than 1.4 million views in its first weekend, which might be a decent number for a network TV show, but not for Netflix. Thus, it was given the ax.

Lowe is no stranger to leaving shows behind. It's one thing for him to choose to leave "The West Wing," though. That was his choice. It's another thing entirely to have the rug ripped out from under him before he wanted to let it go.

The report at the time also noted that the creative team, which also included showrunners Victor Fresco and Andrew Gurdland, were shopping the show to other networks. This is something that has happened more and more in the modern era. Netflix has actually saved shows more than a few times, with "Designated Survivor" serving as one example. "Lucifer" would be another.

As of this writing, there is no indication that the show will be saved, and nearly a year removed from the cancellation, it seems unlikely that anything will come of it. So unfortunately, viewers will probably have to accept that the Dragon saga has come to a close. Lowe has a first-look deal at Fox, having starred in Ryan Murphy's "9-1-1: Lone Star," in addition to hosting "The Floor," but the show couldn't find a home there, despite Lowe's efforts.

Even though the series was canceled relatively early on in its run, the creators seemed to take it in stride. John Owen Lowe took to Instagram to share his thoughts when the news first surfaced:

"Wanted to take a second to thank everyone for the incredible experience making Unstable. To the cast, I love you. To the crew, I love you. To the fans, I love and appreciate you. So proud of us. This show rocks. Rocked? Rocks. And to Netflix: thank you. I no longer have to work with my old man. The greatest gift of all. Love you too."

The critical response is also something to look at here. "Unstable" holds a so-so 68% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with an okay 79% audience rating. Aside from the lackluster viewership, it's not as though this was some critical darling that a network could gain some decent PR for rescuing. There just wasn't much for any potential suitor to grab onto.

The frustration for viewers, in this case, comes given where the show left things off. In the season 2 finale, it was revealed that Ellis Dragon was intended to run for President of the United States. That would have informed "Unstable" season 3, changing the show in a major way.

"The notion that we had of Ellis running for president — we had no idea how timely it would end up being in a time where, for the last week, nobody knows who's running, who's doing what, what the hell's going on," Rob Lowe said to Variety in August 2024, with the show hitting not long after Kamala Harris took over as the Democratic Presidential nominee after Joe Biden dropped out of the race. "It's chaos. So it's kind of a fun time to explore that."

Lowe, in that same interview, explained what we would have seen had the show received a season 3, be it on Netflix or another network. Mind you, at the time Lowe didn't know that the show was going to be canceled, but here's what he had to say about it:

"I can't wait to see Ellis stumble his way through, and probably be kind of brilliant in his own way in just putting together his campaign. I want to see Fred Armisen [Leslie] running a campaign, maybe Jackson being Bobby Kennedy to Ellis' Jack Kennedy. We're very focused on Ellis being super excited about Jackson becoming the first son."

Shows concluding despite plans for more episodes is a tale as old as time, it seems. "Daredevil" had plans for season 4 and season 5 before Netflix canceled the show, with Disney+ later reviving the series in the form of "Daredevil: Born Again." There are near countless examples, and unfortunately, this one must now be added to the ever-growing pile.

You can stream "Unstable" now on Netflix.