HBO’s ‘The Brink’ Un-Renewed, Season 2 Officially Canceled
The Brink may have succeeded in staving off its titular precipice for a second season, but HBO surprisingly seems to have pushed the Jack Black - Tim Robbins geopolitical comedy right back over. The network has officially rescinded its Season 2 renewal, opting instead to cancel The Brink outright.
Back in July, the renewal arrived just one day before The Brink cast’s options were to expire, having already secured a week-long extension. The series similarly underwent a last-minute turnaround between four and five months from script to greenlight, of which the late executive producer Jerry Weintraub quipped at the time that HBO wasn’t sure how long he’d live.
Said HBO to EW of its decision to rescind The Brink’s Season 2 order:
After evaluating our schedule and our programming needs, we unfortunately decided we cannot give The Brink the attention it deserves for a second season. We are proud of the first season and wish everyone involved in this show the very best.
The Brink starred Black, Robbins, The Daily Show alum Aasif Mandvi, Orange is the New Black star Pablo Schreiber, Maribeth Monroe, Carla Gugino, Geoff Pierson, Esai Morales, Thor favorite Jaimie Alexander and Boardwalk Empire alum Eric Ladin. Penned by former Weeds writers and siblings Robert and Kim Benabib, the series’ synopsis read:
This epic dark comedy focuses on a geopolitical crisis and its effect on three disparate, desperate men: Secretary of State Walter Larson, lowly Foreign Service officer Alex Talbot and ace Navy fighter pilot Zeke Tilson, who must pull through the chaos around them to save the planet from World War Three.
In addition to Jay Roach directing the pilot, Robbins himself directed the second episode. It’s perhaps telling that HBO opted not to let cast options expire, merely buying time for a more thorough evaluation, but should we lament The Brink’s loss?