USA Axes Satisfaction After Two Seasons

Amid its recent rebranding, USA can’t get no (more) Satisfaction, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The drama, about a married man who starts moonlighting as an escort after catching his wife in the throes of paid-for passion, lasted two seasons before getting the axe, but its long-term prospects seemed dismal from its inauspicious debut onward.

The writing was on the wall earlier this season, when USA quietly dumped the series in the Friday night death slot, letting it burn through its last ordered episodes then declining to order more. Suits exec producer Sean Jablonski was behind the show, which starred Matt Passmore and Stephanie Szostak as the married couple. Blair Redford, Katherine LaNasa, Michelle DeShon, and Deanna Russo also had main roles.

Satisfaction‘s fate has likely been sealed for quite some time, given that, before the news was even announced, Jablonski had locked down a deal with Netflix to exec-produce and co-showrun a new psychological drama series called Gypsy, all ten episodes of which will be helmed by Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson.

When Mr. Robot exploded onto the awards circuit and sent USA’s stock in the arena of original programming skyrocketing, the network immediately latched onto its new critical acclaim to begin a rebranding, cutting its more “blue skies” shows about (essentially) white people problems to pursue more narratively daring ventures. Other casualties of the new USA model include freshman drama Complications, chopped last fall, and action-drama Graceland, axed after three seasons. With its small-scale premise, Satisfaction‘s cancellation doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

 Colony, the dystopian sci-fi serial from Carlton Cuse, has meanwhile been renewed for a second season, and USA is prepping cartel drama Queen of the South for a premiere this fall. The network certainly seems committed to advancing riskier, more original properties to roll out a lineup that can stand alongside the brilliant Mr. Robot in terms of creative vision and top-notch execution.