Starz cancels horror-comedy ‘Shining Vale’ after second season under-performs

Shining Vale (Source: Starz)

Starz in the US has cancelled horror comedy Shining Vale, with the recently concluded second season set to be its last.

Show co-creator Jeff Astrof shared news of the show’s cancellation on social media yesterday and told US trades that he was hopeful a third season he has already begun writing will find a new home.

A statement from Starz explained: “Unfortunately Shining Vale did not find a large enough audience for us to continue” and reports suggest that the show will be removed from Starz’s on-demand library by the end of the year.

Produced by Warner Bros. TV and starring Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear, the show follows a depressed writer and her family who move into a haunted house.

Astrof co-created the series with Sharon Horgan, while the cast also includes Mira Sorvino, Gus Birney, Judith Ligth and Merrin Dungey.

News of Shining Vale‘s cancellation comes just a few weeks after the conclusion of the second season on 1 December and only days since it was revealed that the network is also calling time on crime drama Hightown, with a third and final season set to debut early next year.

Starz recently cut more than 10% of its staff ahead of its separation from Lionsgate next year,  in an “organisational restructure” that will see it exit the UK and Australia.

Lionsgate’s plans to sell or spin off Starz were first revealed in late 2021, barely five years since the studio acquired the company for $4.4bn, but the move has been delayed until early 2024 following the US company’s acquisition of Entertainment One.