Dark Matter season 4 hopes fade; what’s next for canceled series?

Dark Matter season 4 was an internet movement for weeks following its cancellation by Syfy. Unfortunately, sometimes all of the love in the world cannot produce a renewal or a new broadcast home.

Over the weekend, showrunner Joseph Mallozzi confirmed in his blog that the hopes of Dark Matter coming back to TV are done. We’ll let his words speak for themselves:

“All good things must come to an end – some much sooner than expected.  Sadly, such is the case for Dark Matter. Despite word of the cancellation by syfy, fandom rose up and gave us new hope. We sought to buck the odds and find our little show a new home.  But unfortunately, I just learned that our final option has proven unworkable due to contractual issues.  It’s a shame because these potential saviors reached out to me and offered a creative solution that, had it worked, would have been a sci-fi fan’s dream scenario.  But, alas, it was not to be.  In time, I would love to tell you all about it.”

Ultimately, we believe that there was some enthusiasm out there from prospective interested parties. The truth of the matter is, hard as it is to swallow sometimes, television is a business and executives think in terms of profits more so than passions. If bringing Dark Matter back was not deemed feasible or was too costly, networks / streaming providers weren’t going to bite on it. Kudos to Mallozzi and the team for still fighting until every option was exhausted, and then also providing a constant stream of updates along the way. Once the journey was over, he informed everyone that it was.

Joseph has noted that there are options to bring the story back in other forms, including as a comic series — ironic given that comics were initially a big part of the series’ origin. However, it’s much too early to start speaking on that other than that there are rights and other issues that could be thrown into the equation. This is the thing about television and storytelling: there are many more lawyers present in the process than you would imagine. So long as there is a mechanism to deliver some answer to fans on the story, it’s easier to feel satisfied with the end result.

Our reaction

Obviously, we’re sad to see the Raza and the crew head off into the horizon given that this was a very good, very creative show that should’ve had more opportunities to tell great stories. Our larger frustration is pointed more towards Syfy for canceling the series in the first place when they could have offered some sort of opportunity to wrap up the story, even if it was a shortened final season or even a movie. Sure, Dark Matter was conceived as a five-season story, but sometimes you have to be flexible with the material given to you and condense an ending. We would’ve been thrilled for the opportunity for any ending.

Remember this: Three seasons of Dark Matter is better than no Dark Matter at all. We were a little late to the party after just starting to get into the show this season, but at least we showed up before someone poured out the rest of the punch.

Feel free to share your favorite Dark Matter memories in the comments. Meanwhile, head over to the link here to get more TV updates via our CarterMatt Facebook page. (Photo: Syfy.)