Apple TV+ Canceling One Of 2024's Most Underrated Sci-Fi Shows Is Extremely Disappointing After Season 1's Massive Cliffhanger

The Apple TV+ sci-fi comedy series Sunny has been canceled after just one season, leaving viewers with a cliffhanger ending and concerns for the future of other streaming sci-fi shows. The ending of Sunny season 1 left several plot points open to exploration in season 2, including a shocking main character betrayal. As Apple TV+ has confirmed that viewers will not get a Sunny season 2, this continues a worrying trend for streaming channels. Sunny might be the latest canceled TV show that ended on a cliffhanger, but it is far from the first, with sci-fi shows often being affected.

FX on Hulu canceled Kindred after just one season, Prime Video’s The Peripheral offered viewers hope when it was renewed for a second season before it, too, was canceled. It appears that The OA‘s multidimensional cliffhanger ending will never be resolved after six years, and huge franchises are not immune to cancelation, with the Star Wars series The Acolyte being canceled after one season. Now, Sunny has become yet another recent sci-fi show that didn’t deserve to be canceled, making this development extremely disappointing. While a future reboot might happen, current audiences may never see a resolution to the cliffhanger.

Sunny’s Cancelation Gives The Show A Frustrating, Unresolved Cliffhanger Ending

Sunny’s Hopeful Message Suggests That Masa Could Still Be Alive

The main storyline in Sunny concerns the disappearance of Suzie’s husband and son, as she collects clues detective-style. While season 1 ends with Suzie learning the truth about Masa’s disappearance and being reunited with Zen, there is a twist. After Suzie escapes from kidnap and stops Sunny from wiping her own memory by persuading her that the two are allies, Sunny reveals Mixxy’s true nature. Mixxy has been working for the yakuza all along, proving Sunny right for mistrusting her. The series ends with Mixxy taking Sunny to the yakuza, and the possibility that Masa is still alive.

Masa appears to have the most secrets out of all the characters in Sunny.

Masa appears to have the most secrets out of all the characters in Sunny, including Mixxy. The series shows Suzie discovering that her husband’s job was not what she had thought, and he worked in robotics rather than refrigeration. Masa appeared to have modified Sunny with hidden features that season 2 could have explored further, and the cliffhanger ending suggests that this would have happened. Though Masa appeared to have died in the plane crash, he narrates Sunny‘s ending, saying “Maybe there is hope,” which could suggest that Masa would have been found alive in season 2.

Sunny Had Fantastic Cast Performances & Was One Of TV’s Most Underrated Sci-Fi Shows

As Rashida Jones’ best movies and TV shows have tended to be comedies, she is most known for that genre. While Sunny is still a comedy, the show has given her a chance to take on a different type of character, and her performance has been praised. She stars alongside Hidetoshi Nishijima, who is one of Japan’s most popular and versatile leading actors, with an extensive background in sci-fi. Pairing the two was an excellent casting choice, and despite Sunny receiving a 90% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, the show has not attracted the attention it deserves.

Amid the growing popularity of AI, it is not surprising that this theme has grown more prevalent.

Amid the growing popularity of AI, it is not surprising that this theme has grown more prevalent in the sci-fi genre. Love, Death, & Robots features household robots going rogue, and even the kids’ movie The Wild Robot covers AI. The modern trends have moved away from stories like The Terminator in favor of featuring AI companions who may or may not have ulterior motives. The success of the horror M3GAN and the dystopian TV show Black Mirror should have meant that Sunny would have fit in with current themes, making its cancelation even more of a surprise.

Sunny’s Cancelation Is Worrying For Apple TV+’s Future Acclaimed Sci-Fi Shows

Why Did Apple TV+ Cancel Sunny?

Mixxy (Annie the Clumsy) and Sunny holding Suzie's (Rashida Jones) hand to comfort her in Sunny season 1 Episode 4

Apple TV+ has been the home of some of the best sci-fi TV shows of 2024, including the sci-fi film noir, Sugar, and Dark Matter, which has been renewed for a second season. Many of these shows, including Sunny, have attracted good reviews and an overwhelmingly positive reception from audiences. That said, it appears that even a strong cast and a high Rotten Tomatoes score cannot save a show like Sunny from being canceled. This may not give future audiences the incentive to watch more sci-fi shows on Apple TV+ if even the best ones can be canceled so quickly.

imagery-from-Sunny-and-Robot-&-Frank-and-Big-Hero-6-Baymax

Related

10 Movies & TV Shows To Watch If You Like Apple TV+’s Sunny

Sunny wrapped up its first season in style, but fans will be looking for other interesting sci-fi mysteries that examine artificial intelligence.

Apple TV+ representatives have not yet spoken about the show and none of the cast have mentioned the cancelation, so we may never know why Sunny was canceled after one season. That said, Sunny was likely canceled due to low viewings, as streaming services tend to prioritize viewing figures alongside critical and audience ratings. As Sunny was not a particularly well-known show, potential audiences may not have known that it existed, and Sunny might have benefited from greater attention paid to advertising. If Apple TV+ had advertised the show more, Sunny might have found its audience in time.