On-Again Off-Again Neil Patrick Harris Sitcom 'Uncoupled' is Off Again for Season 2

Source: HBO

For a while it seemed like "Uncoupled" had found a promising new suitor in Showtime after HBO dumped the Neil Patrick Harris-starring sitcom... but that was just a rebound fling, it seems.

"Showtime has decided not to proceed with Season 2 of the comedy series, from 'Emily in Paris' creator Darren Star and 'Modern Family' veteran Jeffrey Richman," Deadline reported.

The axe fell fairly late in the game, Deadline went on to detail, with a new season "gearing up to start shooting... in May with the 10 scripts largely written." But even after the effort had already gone into those scripts – and into retooling the show "to tailor it to the network's sensibilities" – Showtime scrapped its plans.

As previously reported, Showtime's rescue of "Uncoupled" was part of a "new content strategy" that would have slotted the Harris-starring sitcom "into one [of] the three main content lanes recently outlined by new Showtime boss Chris McCarthy," as Deadline reported last summer – namely, "'Metro Cultures,' which spans 'culturally diverse takes' like 'The L Word' and 'The Chi.'"

The show's migration was also seen as part of a larger shift associated with Showtime merging into streamer Paramount+, for which reason "Showtime has shed several series," Deadline noted, including "Three Women" (which will be "landing at Starz"), while "American Gigolo" and "Let The Right One In" were canceled.

"In 'Uncoupled,' Harris stars as a gay man in his mid-40s navigating the single life in New York City after he was unceremoniously dumped by his partner of 17 years," Deadline summarized. "The core cast also includes Tisha Campbell, Brooks Ashmanskas, Emerson Brooks and Marcia Gay Harden."

There was no reason for Showtime's reversal cited in the report, but it might be that the delays associated with last year's dual strikes factored in. Deadline noted that "Neil Patrick Harris revealed in June that Season 2 was supposed to start filming in early July of last year but production was delayed due to the WGA strike."

Add to that the recent contraction in the streaming industry, with platforms scaling back on both new productions and availability of existing content. Moreover, Paramount+ may be headed to new ownership as several media companies are currently looking at buying parent company Paramount Global.

Given those considerations, the reversal might not seem so precipitous after all.