Mission scrubbed: Netflix cancels Steve Carell sci-fi comedy 'Space Force' after 2 seasons

Space Force, the sci-fi comedy series starring Steve Carell and co-created by comedy auteur Greg Daniels, will not launch into a third season on Netflix. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming platform canceled the show after a less-than-stellar reception and a budget that was still too high even after the series moved shooting from Los Angeles to Vancouver in Season 2 to cut costs. 

Space Force revolved around a group of U.S. Department of Defense employees tasked with creating a new Space Force branch tasked with colonizing the moon (among other things). The premise stemmed from the former real-life President creating a similar branch in our reality, though Daniels has made clear that this version of Space Force takes place in an alternate universe. 

In addition to Carell as General Mark Naird, the show also starred an A-list supporting cast of John Malkovich (Dr. Adrian Mallory), Ben Schwartz (F. Tony Scarapiducci), Tawny Newsome (Captain Angela Ali), Lisa Kudrow (Maggie Naird), and Diana Silvers (Erin Naird). 

That group is chock full of talent, which may have been part of its downfall — according to THR, the show’s large budget was reportedly in part because of the actors’ salaries, with Carell getting over $1 million per episode. That much built in spending, along with mixed reviews for both seasons, apparently resulted in a failure for Space Force to (ahem) launch into a third season. 

The news also came after Netflix reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers since the beginning of 2022. The streamer has canceled several other shows in the wake of that news, and it looks like Space Force may be one of the casualties as well. Interestingly, the streamer is spending a ton of cash on one of its biggest successes, with Stranger Things 4 reportedly costing north of $30 million per episode. So Netflix still seems willing to spend big, but only on the sure-thing hits.

While we won’t get any more Space Force, Netflix still has deals in place with Daniels for the animated projects, Bad Crimes and Exploding Kittens. So his clever brand of comedy will still be coming to Netflix, just in different projects.

Though Space Force is no more, there are some other funny sci-fi comedies worth checking out. SYFY’s Resident Alien, for example, now has one-and-a-half seasons streaming on Peacock, with the second half of the season airing later this summer. If you're just jonesing for more of Carell, the entire series run of The Office — as well as a few seasons of expanded episodes — are also streaming on Peacock. In case you're overdue for your 1 billionth Office rewatch.