Renewed or Cancelled?
Emma Stone’s recent win at the Golden Globes is well deserved. However, the press coverage for Poor Things has overshadowed her towering cinematic masterclass in Showtime’s The Curse. Co-created by Benny Safdie and Nathan Fielder with dollops of crime, dark humour, and intense over-the-top drama, The Curse meaningfully subverts expectations and offers a unique viewing experience.
Fielder and Safdie also star alongside Stone, who is undoubtedly the star of the show. Season 1 of the show concluded its run on Showtime and Paramount+ recently. The epic conclusion surprised everyone, including yours truly. You can check out our explainer for the finale and the show here.
If you’ve been watching this one, you may be wondering if this has been renewed or cancelled. Here’s what we know so far:
What is The Curse Season 1 about?
Season 1 of The Curse is about the titular belief or perhaps the manifestation of it in real life. The show focuses on married couple Whitney and Asher Siegel. They are in the process of creating a reality TV show with HGTV, which focuses on creating passive housing for residents of the Espanola community. Dougie is the producer working on a final cut to present to the network executives. The show is tentatively titled “Flipanthrophy.”
However, the major focus of Season 1 is the tumultuous marriage between the two. Whitney grows discontent in their relationship, which doesn’t faze Asher. Remarkably, it only strengthens his resolve to “make it up to” Whitney, as he admittedly “worships her.”
As the series progresses, we see our characters face numerous personal challenges that affect how they grow. The nature of the storytelling assumes more darker undertone as we go forward, although The Curse remains a laugh riot thanks to Nathan Fielder. We have covered the entire show with detailed episodic recaps, which might prove to be helpful for viewers yet to watch the show.
Has The Curse been renewed for Season 2?
At the time of writing this piece, The Curse has not been renewed at Showtime or Paramount for a second season. Given the positive reception and the pedigree of creative talent, things could change in the coming weeks.
Generally, Showtime and Paramount, like other streamers and network cables, gauge numerous metrics before renewing a show, including how many people initially watch it and then looking at the drop-off rate. With some shows, cancellations or renewals happen quickly (ala. Only Murders in the Building, Dark Winds etc.) Other times, it can take months before streamers decide a show’s future.
The Curse has been received wonderfully by critics and audiences. It has become a sensation with the online community and its dynamic duo’s loyal fanbase. Because of its uniqueness, The Curse certainly warrants another season. Benny Safdie, who had originally distanced himself from talk about a follow-up, appeared more open to it in his interview with Variety.
There’s a lot more fun to be had in this world. It’s not off the table. There are ideas, but it’s definitely too premature to put them out into the world. (Source: Variety)
We are not too confident about the renewal. While our opinion is that the show is a must-watch, the story does not need another season. It feels complete in the present state and there isn’t a lot of reason for the creators to carry on. Safdie and Fielder are smart operators. They can perhaps carve out more compelling stuff from the same cinematic universe by focusing on different characters. Nothing is certain at this moment, though. We will update this page as more information is available.
What do we know about Season 2 so far:
Not much is known about The Curse’s Season 2 as Showtime has not officially renewed the show. However, if that does happen, we can expect the story to pick up in the aftermath of the puzzling finale that saw Asher fly off into space to finally “lift the curse” from Whitney’s life.
The ending of Season 1 is truly preposterous. The number of possibilities are endless. The creators can choose any new context to set their story in, perhaps by focusing on Whitney’s imposing task to “raise another Asher.” Who knows, Asher might fall back on earth in the form of an angel and ruin people’s lives.
That is all the information we have for our readers at this point. If we get a renewal, expect the new season to come out sometime in 2025. Or maybe even later. The A-list cast and creative talent have many new projects lined up. And with no prior plans for a new series, don’t be too hopeful.
What do you hope to see in Season 2 of The Curse? Let us know in the comments below.