While Wayward Pines season 3 was never officially canceled after the show’s disappointing second season, its very unlikely the series will return – here’s everything you need to know about Wayward Pines’ cancellation.
The first season of Wayward Pines was based off a trilogy of novels by author Blake Crouch. The premise finds Secret Service agent Ethan Blake (Matt Dillon) searching for two missing agents in the small, idyllic town of Wayward Pines. Blake soon finds himself unable to leave and cut from the world, with the town rules enforced by a brutal sheriff. Wayward Pines season 1 was a thrilling mystery that kept piling on shocking twists, and the show was an early sign M. Night Shyamalan – who directed the pilot and executive produced – was making a comeback after a run of disappointing projects.
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Wayward Pines was originally intended to be a limited series, but the success of season 1 led to it being renewed. The premise of the show allowed it to skip ahead in time, with a new protagonist named Theo (Jason Patric) leading season 2. Sadly, the second season proved disappointing and despite ending on a cliffhanger, season 3 didn’t get a greenlight. Now, we break down the cancellation of Wayward Pines season 3.
Wayward Pines Season 2 Ended On A Major Cliffhanger
The big twist of Wayward Pines season 1 is that the show is actually set in a post-apocalyptic future, with the town housing survivors who were frozen in suspended animation for 2000 years. In the outside world, the rest of the human race has devolved into feral monsters dubbed abbies. Season 1 ended with Blake sacrificing himself to save the human race from an abby attack and the survivors going to cryogenic sleep again.
Wayward Pines season 2 ended with the survivors again planning to go into suspended animation, with new town leader Theo planning to commit the ultimate sacrifice by injecting himself with lethal diseases and feeding himself to the abbies, with the hope of wiping them out. Another survivor named Kerry makes this sacrifice instead, injecting herself and stepping out beyond the town’s walls. An epilogue reveals the abbies still exist, though they look more human, with a newborn baby looking uninfected, setting up intriguing possibilities for Wayward Pines season 3.
Wayward Pines Season 3 Was Quietly Cancelled
Wayward Pines season 2 received lukewarm reviews and disappointing ratings. The ending suggested the show could hit the reset button again and bring in a new cast of characters. The last episode of the show aired in 2016 but while Wayward Pines season 3 hasn’t officially been cancelled it will almost certainly never happen. The last update was in 2017 when Fox president David Madden revealed he was set to meet with M. Night Shyamalan to discuss a possible direction for season 3.
Since then, talk of Wayward Pines season 3 has gone quiet. Insiders have revealed the show is dead, but while its strange Fox wouldn’t come out and admit this, fans have accepted Wayward Pines is gone. That might be for the best because while Wayward Pines season 3 could have explored the unresolved threads left by season 2, the show was originally designed as a limited series and worked best within that format.
