Harlan Coben's Shelter Season 2: Cancellation, What's Next In The Story & Everything We Know
Harlan Coben’s Shelter season 2 speculation is rife after the first chapter in the mystery series ended with a shocking finale that left audiences eager for more. Harlan Coben mysteries have been making the rounds on Netflix with shows like Stay Close and The Stranger. However, Harlan Coben’s Shelter found its home on Amazon Prime Video. Shelter follows a teen, Mickey, who goes to live with his aunt after the traumatic death of his father. Mickey’s first friend at his new school, Ashley, goes missing the next day, and Mickey and his friends vow to find the perpetrator.
Shelter also tackles other mysteries along the way, such as a similar disappearance almost 30 years earlier and a mansion that Mickey’s father once found himself trapped in. Audiences fell in love with the ragtag group of teens and Coben’s compelling mystery narrative. The story ended on a notable cliffhanger, and audience interest in the Amazon Prime Video original has proved to be quite high. However, the show’s cancelation jeopardizes the story’s future.
Shelter Ended With Season 1
The Series Had A Cliffhanger Ending
The last update regarding the fledgling show was that Amazon Prime Video had canceled Shelter after only one season. The first season ended on a notable cliffhanger when Mickey’s Dad appeared alive in the final episode. This feels like a clear set-up for another season, though a potential second season has an entire book series to draw from.
The season 1 finale had a lot of bloodshed. Once Mickey is taken out of commission, Spoon, Ema, and Rachel head to save Ashley. However, they end up separated, and Spoon is captured and almost killed. Candy saves him, but at the cost of her own life, dying in his arms. Ema and Rachel finally save Ashley, and Mickey shows up at the last minute to help save everyone by hitting the trafficker Kylie with his van. However, after that, everything goes wrong.
He and his friends bust in and find his dad in the room still alive.
The season ends with a lot of questions. Mickey learns from the Bat Lady that she still hears Brad (Mickey’s dad) calling out to her, but she knows he is dead. However, that is when Mickey realizes what happened. He runs with his friends to the tunnels under the town. At the same time that Shira stands shocked when she sees the body in “Brad’s” exhumed casket, Mickey finds a room in the tunnels welded shut. He and his friends bust in and find his dad in the room still alive.
Why Shelter Was Canceled After One Season
Prime Video Blamed The WGA Strike
Prime Video Canceled Shows | Total Episodes |
|---|---|
Harlan Coben’s Shelter | 8 |
The Horror of Dolores Roach | 8 |
With Love | 11 |
This news came as quite a shock, considering the recent relative success of other Harlan Coben projects. Shelter wasn’t the only original Amazon Prime Video series that got the axe then, with Horror of Dolores Roach and With Love also canceled. The streamer blamed the decision on the “post-strike landscape“ and said other shows could be canceled in the future. The cancelation of Shelter put the show’s story in limbo, and it is unclear if a revival could pick up where the previous season left off.
All 3 shows canceled by Prime Video featured people of color in lead roles.
Harlan Coben’s Shelter’s cancelation from Prime Video seems to spell doom for its future. However, it isn’t unusual for a streamer to pick up a previously canceled show and resurrect it. Notable hits like The Killing, Minx, and Uncoupled were all canceled by their original home and purchased by another. Netflix has a notable deal with author Harlan Coben to adapt his Myron Bolitar novels, and the streamer could pick up Shelter and include Bolitar in the series if they launch the new franchise.
How Shelter Season 1 Was Received
Critics Loved The Series
With only one season of Harlan Coben’s Shelter, critics and audience members alike only had a small portion to sample when reviewing the series. For the critics, it was enough to award it with an 88% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score was lower but still a solid 79%. When it comes to the ending, many audience members praised the final twist. One specific reviewer felt that the show had a satisfying ending, despite the shock that came with it.
“What sets this show apart is its commitment to tying up loose ends, offering satisfying resolutions to every lingering question.”
As for the critics, most of the reviews praised the show, including Peter Travers from ABC News. In his mostly positive review, Travers wrote, “The Shelter series fights hard not to sink in the murk of overplotting and way too many characters. As usual, the Coben touch comes to the rescue by delivering the essential ingredient in any mystery: the pleasures of the unexpected.”
However, not everyone was won over by the series. Aramide Tinubu of Variety wrote a mostly negative review of Harlan Coben’s Shelter. In her review, the critic wrote, “Some storylines felt completely outlandish and forced, even for a teen drama. These scenarios could have been altered or left on the editing floor for tighter, sharper episodes that would have allowed the dark revelations in “Harlan Coben’s Shelter” to pave the way for some heart-racing excitement.”
