Putting the ‘Blood’ in bloodbath, ‘Blood Drive’ is the latest victim of SyFy’s recent cancellation binge, following ‘Dark Matter’ and ‘Killjoys’. ‘Blood Drive’ was a Mad Max-like post-apocalyptic action series, set in a future where the United States suffered a series of massive earthquakes which split the continent in two. The lack of resources has led to the survivors using human blood to fuel cars. The death race scenario plays out while the sinister corporation Heart Enterprises lingered in the background, pulling strings in an effort to gain control over what’s left of this society.
Just this past week, SyFy also cancelled ambitious space adventure ‘Dark Matter’ which is going into its third season. Sadly, series creator Joseph Mallozzi had a five year plan in place for this series and the third season, at least for now, ends on a cliffhanger. Syfy wasn’t interested in hearing Mallozzi’s plans for the rest of the series nor would they okay a six-part miniseries to wrap up the ongoing storylines. The show’s creative team may still have time to change the ending to at least give fans some sense of closure.
The network was kinder to ‘Killjoys‘, also going into its third season. The space bounty hunter series has been cancelled but, possibly because it is owned by SyFy, it’s getting two more ten-episode seasons in order to wrap up.
‘Blood Drive’ has gotten the rawest deal. The show just debuted this summer and the final episode just aired before word of cancellation was announced.
The show’s creator James Roland addressed viewers via a lengthy blog, expressing:
“Unfortunately, your suspicions are correct. Syfy has canceled Blood Drive after one season. If this news makes you angry or sad, you’re not alone. I found out not too long ago, but have been trying to think of a way to tell you guys since I felt it was up to me to let the fans know. Ultimately I decided to wait until after the final episode aired so the news did not taint your experience. It simply didn’t seem right to burst the bubble so early, especially with how the last episode plays out. We always planned for a season two, but now that the future of the show is uncertain the final scenes seem so much more … final.”
Roland offered a glimmer of hope, saying:
“There’s definitely no season two in the immediate future, but I remain cautiously optimistic there’s more story to tell in this world. NBC|Universal owns the show so when the time comes I’ll approach them with some ideas and we’ll see what they think.”
It appears despite decent reviews, ‘Blood Drive’ simply didn’t deliver a sizable enough audience. Summers can be tricky for new shows. There isn’t a lot of competition, as most series go on hiatus, but the reason for these hiatuses is that people tend to be too busy in the summer for regular TV watching. It’s possible that potential viewers weren’t drawn by the desert drag racing premise, unaware that there were deeper, more complex storylines being woven through the narrative.
The show starred Alan Ritchson, Christina Ochoa, Thomas Dominique, Marama Corlett and Colin Cunningham.
Reportedly, Ritchson, who may be best remembered for playing Aquaman/Arthur Curry on ‘Smallville’ is the front contender to play another superhero Hank Hall a.k.a. Hawk from the duo Hawk & Dove on WB’s upcoming streaming series ‘Titans’.
Were you a fan of ‘Blood Drive’? Would you like to see it continue on at another network or a streaming service?
