Cinemax’s adaptation of Max Collins’ Quarry certainly took its time getting to TV, but the post-Vietnam drama became something special in the first run. The network’s return to more action-oriented far seemingly pulled the plug, however, and now co-creator Michael D. Fuller confirms the Logan Marshall-Green drama has reached an end.

Fuller offered fans an extended explanation of the series’ end, noting that Quarry took nearly half a decade from selling the pilot in spring 2013, to shooting the full series in 2015 and airing in fall of 2016. The re-branding of Cinemax from quieter dramas was indeed to blame, as Fuller explained:

And so, after a protracted and agonizing process, we have final confirmation that Quarry will not be returning to television. There were several factors that contributed to the show’s ultimate fate, but a regime change at HBO and a re-(re?)-branding at Cinemax were of particular significance; we attempted to find another home for the show but were unable to do so.

By virtually every metric (ratings, critical response) the show succeeded in all the ways a show needs to for a second season, but, as the erstwhile Head Ball Coach of my beloved Gamecocks was fond of saying, “it is what it is”. TV’s tough and life is tougher, and like the titular character of the show, the series itself was ultimately the victim of a system that is relentlessly unforgiving.

This series followed Mac Conway (Marshall-Green), a Marine who returns home from Vietnam in 1972 and winds up drawn into a network of killing that spans the Mississippi River. Also starring were Jodi Balfour, Peter Mullan, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Justified alum Damon Herriman and The Wire vet Jamie Hector.

Fuller also offered a glimpse into what Season 2 would have looked like:

Season 2 was going to be set in 1973 and see Mac fully immersed in The Broker’s network, the arrival of Mac and Arthur’s war buddy Hall Prewitt and the trouble coming w/ him, Buddy asserting his individuality, all w/ the specter of Watergate looming. We actually wrote the entire second season, 6 episodes, before receiving word that Cinemax was going in a different direction w/ their branding and content. Since we didn’t get a Season 2, let’s just speculate as to if Mac actually made it to the other side of the river.

You can watch the original trailer below, and catch up with the first season on HBO and Cinemax’s various apps, but did Quarry deserve a second shot?

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