Freeform has canceled its mermaid fantasy-drama ‘Siren’ after three seasons. The Season 3 finale aired on May 28. ‘Siren’ made a splashy debut in 2018, becoming a breakout hit. Its second season was Freeform’s most-watched show of 2019. But ‘Siren’ took a dive (down double digits) in the ratings in Season 3, although it remained Freeform’s most-live-watched show, and its second-most-watched show overall behind ‘grown-ish’. (It doesn’t help, however, that ‘Siren’ isn’t available on a streaming service, but is only streamable on Freeform’s app.)
‘Siren’ was created by Eric Wald and Dean White. Emily Whitesell served as showrunner. Set in the coastal town of Bristol Cove, Washington, which is the legendary home of merpeople, ‘Siren’ starred Eline Powell as Ryn Fisher, a mermaid who is forced to journey ashore in search of her lost sister, Donna (Sibongile Mlambo). She is befriended by two marine biologists, Ben Pownall (Alex Roe) and Maddie Bishop (Fola Evans-Akingbola). Season 2 added even more merpeople, as they left the water due to pollution. Season 3 introduced an arch-villain for the show, Tia, a conquering mermaid played by Tiffany Lonsdale, who attempted to force Ryn into her army. Rena Owen also costarred.
Season 3 ended with a cliffhanger, as Ryn suddenly found herself the leader of Tia’s army after defeating her, and with Ben lost in the aftermath.
Freeform, a network targeted at young women, still has one genre series, ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ which debuted in March and has been renewed for a second season.
Considering that ‘Siren’ still had strong ratings, despite a sharp drop-off, and that it skews toward the desirable teen/young adult female demographic, it’s very possible that another outlet will pick it up if fans rally behind it.
If you “kept meaning to check out” ‘Siren’, it is available on the Freeform app, which is free.
Source: Variety
