‘Limetown,’ ‘Sorry For Your Loss’ Canceled at Facebook Watch

Will Thorne

16 January 2020 at 9:21 pm

Facebook Watch has canceled two of its shows amid a scaling back of its scripted content.

Both “Limetown” and “Sorry For Your Loss” have been canceled after their first and second seasons respectively, Variety has confirmed.

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Based on the podcast of the same name produced by Two Up, “Limetown” followed Lia Haddock (Jessica Biel), a journalist for American Public Radio, as she unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of over 300 people at a neuroscience research facility in Tennessee.

Biel executive produced via her Iron Ocean Productions banner alongside Michelle Purple. Endeavor Content served as the studio. Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie, creators of the “Limetown” podcast, wrote and also executive produced. Midnight Radio’s Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg were all executive producers, with Adrienne Erickson producing.

While “Sorry For Your Loss” centered on Elizabeth Olsen’s character Leigh, a recent widow, as she struggles to get through the days without her husband and, to some degree, reassess their relationship since it came to a premature end. The critically acclaimed “Sorry For Your Loss” could yet find a home elsewhere.

The two cancelations leave Facebook Watch with a smaller scripted slate that includes “The Real Bros of Simi Valley,” which is heading into its third season, and Blumhouse Television’s fairy-tale-inspired anthology series “Sacred Lies,” whose second season has been gestating since it was renewed back in December 2018. Facebook also has a five-series pact with Crypt TV, the horror/monster digital studio founded by Eli Roth and Jack Davis and backed by Jason Blum, in addition to “The Birch,” which premiered last fall.

In a recent interview with Variety, Ricky Van Veen, Facebook’s head of global creative strategy, acknowledged that the social giant remains in experimentation mode on its originals strategy. “We’re still figuring it out and learning,” he said. “When you start a new platform, you’re going to have to throw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what works and what doesn’t.”

The cancelations of “Sorry For Your Loss” and “Limetown” come after Van Veen, in the November interview, had singled out both shows as examples of delivering on Facebook’s goal of fostering strong user communities with active discussion groups.

And a little over a year ago, Van Veen touted the fact that 75 million Facebook users were spending at least one minute on Watch as a reason behind renewing “Sacred Lies,” “Sorry For Your Loss,” Kerry Washington’s drama “Five Points” and influencer Huda Kattan’s reality show “Huda Boss.”

Deadline first reported news of the cancelations.

Pictured above: Elizabeth Olsen in “Sorry For Your Loss”

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