Oh no, the lab coats are being hung up for good! Unstable is officially not stable enough to return for a third season. RIP to the bizarre adventures of Rob Lowe and his son, John Owen Lowe, because Netflix has hit the “cancel subscription” button on their comedy show after just two seasons.
On this dramatic day of October 11, Deadline delivered the heartbreaking news that Unstable had been axed faster than a failed science experiment. The Lowe family duo, Rob (who is a sprightly 60 years old and seems to be aging backwards) and John Owen (a mere 28-year-old, still figuring out life), not only starred in the show but co-created it too. They were out here doing everything: starring, writing, producing, and probably making the coffee on set. And yet… the world said, “Nah, we’re good.”
The plot of Unstable was a wild ride through a biological research company, where a socially awkward son is basically kidnapped—okay, “forced”—to work for his dad, who is more eccentric than a mad scientist with a secret karaoke hobby. The son tries to save the company, but as it turns out, he couldn’t save the show.
Premiering in November 2023, the first season had a good start. But when Season 2 dropped in August, it couldn’t even crack Netflix’s Top 10. Oof! That means it pulled in fewer views than your Aunt Karen’s cat videos – less than 1.4 million in its opening weekend, and even less the next week. Maybe viewers were too busy watching true crime docs or baking shows?
But wait, there’s more! The show isn’t going down without a fight. Word on the street (okay, the internet) is that the series is being shopped around, hoping to find a new home. Maybe Hulu will adopt it? Disney+? Or perhaps it’ll just end up on some obscure streaming service next to your old middle school science class videos.
So, while Rob and John Owen Lowe might be heading back to the drawing board, we can all agree that they gave us some pretty solid dad-and-son mad scientist vibes. Let’s pour one out for Unstable—a show that was, sadly, too unstable to survive.
