This Critically Acclaimed Spy Thriller Was Just Canceled After One Season

It had a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score

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Katalin Vermes/PEACOCK

If it wasn't already obvious, we're deep in the era of TV show cancellations. Over the past few months alone, viewers have said goodbye to series like Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent, along with NBC's Stumble, The Hunting Party and Prime Video's Gen V. Now, another promising show has joined the growing list: Peacock's Ponies.

According to Deadline, Peacock has decided not to renew the American spy thriller, which was created by Susanna Fogel and David Iserson and stars Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson. The cancellation comes as a surprise considering the show's strong reception. (Ponies earned an impressive 94 percent critics score and 83 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.) Unfortunately, critical acclaim doesn't always translate into viewership.

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Katalin Vermes/PEACOCK

Having watched a good portion of the first season myself, I can understand why those ratings were so high. The series is smart, entertaining and packed with strong performances. If anything, its biggest challenge may have been visibility.

Set in Moscow in 1977, Ponies follows two women known as "PONIES," or "persons of no interest" in intelligence terminology. Working as secretaries at the American Embassy, they largely go unnoticed until their husbands die under mysterious circumstances in the Soviet Union. Suddenly, they're pulled into the world of CIA operations and international espionage.

Emilia Clarke plays Bea Grant, a highly educated Russian speaker and the daughter of Russian immigrants who finds herself grappling with a life that hasn't unfolded as planned. Haley Lu Richardson stars as Twila Hasbeck, a bold, outspoken small-town woman whose fearlessness often gets the better of her. Brought together by tragedy, the pair begin investigating the conspiracy their husbands died trying to uncover.

The eight-episode first season premiered on January 15 and wrapped up its short run with the cancellation announcement in June.

Cast and crew members have since expressed their disappointment online, with some even encouraging other networks to give the series a second chance. For now, though, it appears this spy story has reached its final chapter.

Season one of Ponies is currently streaming on Peacock.

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Danielle Long

Contributing Editor, News and Entertainment

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