Why Starz Canceled Minx After Saving It From HBO Max

As a huge fan since his "New Girl" days, any movie or TV show that provides a vehicle for Jake Johnson to flex his comedic acting chops is a welcome one in my book. The 47-year-old actor has practically resurrected the kind of everyman character that we can relate to, sympathize with, and care for effortlessly within seconds. The fact that he's naturally hilarious with a great understanding of how low-key and situational comedy works is a bonus. His character in HBO Max's "Minx" was a somewhat heightened example of that. Although Johnson's Doug Renetti, a sketchy hustler and publisher of adult entertainment, wasn't necessarily the center of the 1970-set series, without him, it also wouldn't have worked as well as it did. But even with Johnson bringing the charm and fun as a sweet-talking and savvy street guy dressed in the most pimp-like attire imaginable, "Minx" couldn't find a big and loyal enough audience to survive for more than two seasons.

The series follows young feminist writer Joyce Prigger (Ophelia Lovibond) in the 1970s of Los Angeles, as she tries to get a highbrow women's magazine off the ground without success. Until she meets Doug Renetti (Johnson), that is, who sees a big opportunity in Joyce and her ideas but knows the industry well enough to realize they need to be presented in a slightly different way. Meaning: naked men with huge dongs and pitch-perfect abs to attract more female readers. So the two team up to create the first-ever women's erotic magazine and become close friends in the process. And we get to witness all the challenges, the developing relationships (both romantic and professional), and the successes and failures they and their quirky team face while turning the mag into a cultural phenomenon.

Despite critics loving and praising both seasons of "Minx," the show struggled to find and maintain a core audience during 2022 and 2023. The initial cancellation by HBO Max after season 1 (with the shooting of season 2 almost completed), however, wasn't related to a declining viewership but to "cost-cutting tax write-offs," according to Deadline. So Starz swooped in to save the series, picking up both its seasons and airing the follow-up in the summer of 2023. Yet the rescue didn't last long since "Minx" wasn't able to produce the numbers (and an audience) big enough to justify a continuation. It didn't help that season 2 began airing right after the SAG-AFTRA strike kicked off, making it impossible for the show's stars and creatives to promote it properly. There and then, Jake Johnson already suspected that the rather sad fate of the comedy was sealed. Talking with Deadline, he said:

"I think the move to Starz, I think HBO kind of doing their HBO thing, or HBO Max, whatever it's called now, I think that was brutal for [the show]. Then, I think the strike coming out right as we were trying to promote it ... My guess is you can't beat something up that many times and keep going."

Unfortunately, he was right. "Minx" got cancelled for a second time in early January of 2024, and this time, there was no other channel or streaming platform to step in and save the day for the period comedy.