Netflix's new espionage thriller Hit & Run won't be returning to tie up its loose ends, Deadline reports. Not even two months after the show set itself up for a multi-season run with a massive cliffhanger, Netflix made the decision not to renew it for a second season.
Despite overall positive reviews and solid ratings from both fans and critics alike, the show was simply too expensive to produce, particularly with the ongoing pandemic. Hit & Run featured a sprawling narrative that spanned from Tel Aviv, Israel to New York, featuring a bilingual cast of American and Israeli actors in an appeal to an international market. The first season took three years to finish as the pandemic crippled the film industry, leading it to finally release on August 6 of this year. A week after its debut, it cracked the Nielsen Streaming Top 10, only to fall off in the following weeks.
Upon the conclusion of Season 1 on a cliffhanger, the creative team expressed excitement in continuing Segev's journey in subsequent seasons. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, co-showrunners Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin explained how the twist was a key part of the plot's roadmap, with Prestwich stating:
"Actually, we had early on pitched our idea for the cliffhanger. Then, in the process of breaking the story and by the time we knew what the entire season was going to be, and we went in and pitched it to Netflix, we were undecided. We thought, maybe we won’t make that choice. But Netflix missed it and said, “We want that.” So it was like, “Ok, we’ll come back!” We’ve very excited. We definitely feel like the show needs at least another season."
Hit & Run was helmed by two pairs of showrunners — Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz (Fauda), and Prestwich and Yorkin (Z: The Beginning of Everything). It starred Raz as Segev, a loving husband left heartbroken by the sudden death of his wife Dianna (Kaelen Ohm) in a hit-and-run in Tel Aviv. Segev realizes it was no simple accident, though, and enlists the aid of his friend Ron (Gal Toren) and ex Naomi (Sanaa Lathan) to uncover the secrets his wife kept from him and the circumstances behind her death. Other actors included Moran Rosenblatt and Gregg Henry.
It's an unfortunate end to a big-budget show with a lot of potential. Season 1 of Hit & Run is currently available to stream on Netflix.