Kevin Bacon’s horror series, “The Bondsman” took over the Prime Video charts, signalling the arrival of what looked to be yet another popular series for the streamer. Just one month later, Prime Video canceled “The Bondsman” in a surprising turn of events that reminded us all of the fickle nature of the streaming sphere. For Bacon, however, this wasn’t the first time he’d fronted an initially popular show with a grizzly streak that was cancelled before its time.
Back in 2013, the actor debuted as former FBI agent Ryan Hardy in “The Following.” The crime thriller series was created by Kevin Williamson, who’s best known for writing “Scream” and several of its sequels, as well as creating the archetypal teen drama series “Dawson’s Creek.” In “The Following,” however, Williamson indulged an even more violent and gritty tone, with Bacon’s Hardy tracking down serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), a former college professor who killed young women in honor of Edgar Allan Poe. The first season sees Carroll escape death row, beginning a tense cat and mouse game between the killer, his band of acolytes and Hardy.
That initial run of episodes proved popular, and Fox renewed the series for another two seasons. After the third season wrapped up, however, the network killed off “The Following.” What happened? Well, nothing all that shocking, as the series simply couldn’t hold on to its viewership.
