‘The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance’ Cancelled At Netflix

The Skeksis win again.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance has been cancelled after just one year. The news was delivered via a statement to io9 from Jim Henson Company CEO Lisa Henson, who told the site, “We know fans are eager to learn how this chapter of The Dark Crystal saga concludes and we’ll look for ways to tell that story in the future.” The series married traditional puppetry with CGI to tell a story of Thra (the setting of The Dark Crystal) at the beginning of its decline. The Skeksis may have already pulled the shard from the Crystal, splintering the fowl creatures from their more benevolent halves, but relations with the Gelflings remain in a state of detente.
The first season centered on a handful of Gelflings who learn the truth about the Skesis and try to rise up in rebellion. By its end, the various clans had united and the missing Crystal shard had been found. But, sadly, the cliffhanger will likely never be resolved in live action. Though the program won an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program, it clearly did not meet up with Netflix’s secretive and often arcane metrics for success.
Of course, to a certain extent, the series was always destined for a down ending. It’s true conclusion is told in Jim Henson‘s feature film, The Dark Crystal, after all. So perhaps the “Charge of the Light Brigade” feel always meant the show’s days were number. Additionally, the production was said to be long and difficult and the always quick-to-cancel Netflix will knee-cap harmonious productions at the drop of a viewership figure. Nevertheless, we like the world of Thra and hope, someday, the Henson Company can find a partner as devoted to tell more Dark Crystal tales as they are.