Why Hulu's Helstrom Was Canceled — Here's What We Know
It's hard to imagine a world of Marvel television series before Disney+ entered all of our lives, but yes, this mysterious time exists, and there were a lot of really wonderful shows that came out of it. Based on the Marvel comic of the same name, "Helstrom" was a series about siblings Daimon (Tom Austen) and Ana (Sydney Lemmon), the son and daughter of a mysterious and powerful serial killer. The duo's relationship is complicated, to say the least, but the two join forces to hunt down humanity's most despicable monsters and make sure they can't hurt anyone ever again. Unfortunately, the Hulu series was canceled after only one season, just as the show felt like it was finding its footing. Many fans were hoping that once Disney+ kicked off, that "Helstrom" would hopefully find a new life on the service, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be within the realm of possibility.
"Helstrom" was caught up in the same wave that took out "The Runaways, "The Gifted," "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," "Cloak and Dagger," and all of the additional Marvel series on Netflix. The show debuted on Hulu to little fanfare and a severe lack of marketing, indicating to many that the writing was on the wall before the episodes even premiered. The show earned lackluster reviews from critics, but audiences felt differently. Even today a quick search of "Helstrom" on Twitter will bring up plenty of fans still begging for Marvel to incorporate the characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Regrettably, those fans are going to be waiting for a very long time. Here's everything we know about the cancelation of "Helstrom."
Goodbye, Jeph Loeb. Hello, Kevin Feige.
The "Helstrom" cancellation is a simple one — the creative control of Marvel shifted. Jeph Loeb had been the major influence behind most of the Marvel television shows prior to late 2019. Loeb was known before his time with Marvel for his work on shows like "Smallville" and "Heroes," and this style and tone was definitely felt in shows like "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," and "Iron Fist."
In 2019, however, the creative direction of Marvel shifted over to Kevin Feige who wanted to incorporate the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the television properties, which is why shows like "Loki" and "WandaVision" incorporate the characters and stars of the MCU feature films. This shift in creative control meant the end of Loeb's existing series, with the exception of the animated "M.O.D.O.K." which debuted in May of 2021.
Alas, "Helstrom" is no more and unless there's a massive late-wave of popularity, it's going to stay that way.