Why HBO Killed the Best Western TV Series

September 05, 2024

The Big Picture

Deadwood was an expensive show to produce, costing $4.5 million per episode, which led to financing disputes and ultimately its cancelation.
The cast of Deadwood was let go after three seasons when HBO decided not to pick up their option agreements for a fourth season.
Despite fan petitions and attempts to revive the series, declining ratings and production issues made the cancelation of Deadwood inevitable.

HBO's Deadwood is one of the streamer's most critically acclaimed series ever. The blood-soaked, expletive-laden show starring Timothy Olyphant gave the audience some of the best Western heroes and villains to grace the small screen, and yet, despite the accolades, the show was unceremoniously canceled. Fans were disappointed that the premature cancelation would leave the story unfinished, only to return frustratingly 13 years later with the wrap-up film, Deadwood: The Movie. How does something like this happen, and what drove HBO to cancel the series?

Deadwood

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A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.

Creator David Milch Cast Timothy Olyphant , Ian McShane , Molly Parker , Jim Beaver , W. Earl Brown , Dayton Callie , Kim Dickens , Brad Dourif Seasons 3 Release Date March 21, 2004 Main Genre Western

HBO's 'Deadwood' Was Expensive To Make

The cost was a significant motivator in getting Deadwood canceled, with the powers that be unable to agree on the terms of the financing contract, effectively canceling the show. Many networks operating under the umbrella of mega entertainment conglomerates often have their own studios. Think of a network like NBC or CBS. Shows on a network like this often have one financing entity streamlining the funding process. This was not the case with Deadwood, an incredibly expensive television show to produce, at a whopping $4.5 million per episode. In order to come up with that kind of money, HBO would need partners.

HBO is a division of Time-Warner Media that partnered with Paramount to obtain funding in exchange for international distribution rights for Deadwood. The series was a hit and even won a Golden Globe Award. But as time passed and the third season went into production, the investors wanted to renegotiate new terms. Unfortunately for everybody involved, fans included, Paramount and HBO could not agree and disputed the contract terms. Both parties threw up their hands in disagreement and decided to call it a day. As a result of the dispute, a fourth season of the show never saw production, and the series was effectively canceled.

The 'Deadwood' Cast Was Let Go After Three Seasons

With the money gone and Deadwood now dead in the water, there was still the matter of what to do about the actors. Actors are often bound to a series for a length of time so that they can't just up and go, leaving the production company in the lurch. There's nothing worse than a sudden departure of a cast member to throw the audience for a loop and a story into chaos. Think of a show like Bewitched, which recast the actor playing Darrin Stephens. The confusion for the audience is understandable; they develop relationships with their favorite characters, after all.

'Deadwood’s Swearing Really F*cking Paid Off for HBO

’Deadwood’s foul-mouthed dialogue might have caused controversy for HBO, but it set a new standard for the genre and network.

HBO announced the cancelation just before the release of Season 3, deciding not to pick up the cast option agreements, which were only valid for three seasons and not a fourth. An option agreement is a legal agreement between a producer and writer or rights-holder(s), giving the producer a set amount of time to represent the project. The producer is then able to purchase the rights at a later date. The actors would all go on to do other projects as a result. Show creator David Milch was also tied to another HBO series, John from Cincinnati. Chief Executive Chair of HBO Chris Albrecht noted that even though HBO could not agree on financing with Paramount, and the actors were more or less released from their contracts, the network wanted to keep the series alive. Milch had this to say about the series' cancelation, "I am deeply disappointed by how things turned out. (HBO) felt like they had to make a choice, and this is how they chose. I know they tried to work it out, and I tried to work it out with them."

HBO Tried and Failed To Keep 'Deadwood' Alive

Chris Albrecht said via phone call, "Not having a fourth season of Deadwood is not the result anyone wanted," so they offered David Milch a special offer. HBO wanted Milch to do a six-episode series finale instead of the 12 episodes traditionally given to projects, which he turned down. Milch wasn't thrilled about the short-order episodes because Hill Street Blues had already left a sour taste in his mouth. So he didn't move forward with the short order, and the show died right then and there, with the story falling into obscurity unresolved.

Fans were unhappy about this, and they petitioned the network to revive the series, trying to compel HBO subscribers to cancel their paid subscriptions at the culmination of the third series. Then, just days before the third season premiered, HBO announced that the series would be tied up with a two-part, two-hour special. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, these never ended up happening. Declining ratings were also a major factor. The first season of Deadwoodaveraged around 4.5 million viewers. 2.4 million viewers tuned in for the second season, seeing a nearly 50 percent drop in viewership from Season 1 to Season 2, despite its critical praise and attention.

‘Deadwood’ Did This Character Dirty

This resident of Deadwood was mishandled in the later installments of the series.

With the finances up in the air, declining viewership, and the sheer chaos involved in making a show that big, a cancelation was inevitable. Vulture reported that Milch, being a bit of a perfectionist, would yell out dialogue suggestions off-camera and force reshoots even though he had not written or directed the episode. Of course, this meant more takes. "Time is money," as they say, and these reshoots likely aided in ballooning the $4.5 million episode budget. Dovetailing with stylistic changes to HBO's program line-up, Deadwood couldn't survive and succumbed to the all-too-familiar pressures of the entertainment business. Many shows go this way, even though they are ground-breaking, critically acclaimed, and beloved. It happened to Rome and Carnivale, both shows produced by HBO that got too big for their britches. Luckily, fans were treated to a film version that helped conclude Deadwood — not many shows even get that.

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