A certified sci-fi classic rewarded with a sequel series cut short and canned in record time protests its innocence on streaming

Even though we’ve become increasingly conditioned to expect the exact opposite, not every hit movie needs to be turned into a franchise. Despite thankfully existing as a one-and-done endeavor on the big screen, though, the decision to dust off Minority Report and hand it a sequel series more than a decade later ended up going about as disastrously as you could imagine.

Partnering the biggest star on the planet with one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema was always going to yield fireworks, and the maiden collaboration between Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg did not disappoint on any front. Energetic, propulsive, action-packed, and loaded with resonance, it’s fair to call Minority Report one of the 21st Century’s indisputable sci-fi greats.

Take away those two elements, and there’s not really much reason to remain invested in the property, something the short-lived show developed by Max Borenstein discovered firsthand. Initially ordered for a 13-episode run, that number was cut down to 10 after Minority Report had already started airing on Fox, and it was ultimately canceled after a single season.

There’s probably a lot of people who don’t even have a clue the small screen continuation even exists, which is probably for the best when it can’t hold a candle to its illustrious forebear. More than 20 years later, and FlixPatrol naming Minority Report V1.0 as one of the Top 10 most-watched movies on Hulu only serves to underline its eternal re-watch value, because everybody runs eventually. And when you’re talking about the king of onscreen running himself, that’s especially true.