There will be no season 3 for one of our favorite Marvel superhero TV series, Cloak & Dagger. Freeform opted not to renew the series five months after the sophomore season concluded in May 2019. They announced the sad cancellation news on October 24, 2019.
In general terms, Cloak & Dagger refers to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery and is often about spies. It is safe to say no other title could have fit better than this for the comic book of the same name, on which the series is based.
The Marvel TV series Cloak & Dagger was created by Joe Pokaski. It tells the story of two teenagers – Tyrone Johnson/Cloak (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy Bowen/Dagger (Olivia Holt) – who discover that they not only share a childhood tragedy but also destiny, as the duo are destined to save the city of New Orleans.
The series was a perfect cocktail of romance, science fiction, superheroism, and teen drama. It premiered in June 2018 and ran for two seasons until May 2019, after which it was canceled.
The Premise of The Marvel TV Series, Cloak & Dagger
The collapse of an oil rig in New Orleans, owned by the company Roxxon, causes two teenagers to become unlikely friends. Tandy and Tyrone come from vastly different backgrounds – Tyrone comes from a privileged upbringing, while Tandy has been dealt a bad hand.
Though from very different backgrounds, they find themselves burdened and awakened to newly acquired superpowers. They subsequently formed a partnership as their friendship unfolds daily. The teens are then targeted by drug cartels on the streets of New York City. When circumstances help form a tight bond between them, their developing abilities and feelings make things more complicated.
In the second season, they work to bring down Andre Deschaine who is behind the abductions of women. After the duo succeeded in thwarting his plots of also becoming an all-powerful god, Tandy and Tyrone decided to take their brand of vigilante justice on the road, seeking out evil wherever it lurks.
In addition to Aubrey Joseph and Olivia Holt, Cloak & Dagger’s cast also included Gloria Reuben and Miles Mussenden as Adina and Otis Johnson respectively, Tyrone’s parents. Andrea Roth plays Melissa, Tandy’s mother, while Emma Lahana plays Brigid O’Reilly, a detective who gained superhuman abilities and became known as Mayhem.
The series ran for two seasons of 10 episodes each, concluding in May 2019, as previously mentioned. It debuted on June 7, 2018, and was met with positive reviews. Following its first run, Cloak & Dagger was renewed by Freeform for a second season which premiered on April 4, 2019, and ended on May 30. It was eventually canceled in October of the same year.
Why Cloak & Dagger Season 3 Got Cancelled
Cloak & Dagger had a very successful run in its first season. It was well received and even became the channel’s most-watched drama since the series finale of Pretty Little Liars in June 2017, earning a second season renewal. Additionally, it had the best series launch on Freeform in two years.
However, out of the blues, Freeform announced on October 24, 2019, that the show has been canceled, throwing the fans for a loop. Unfortunately, it was revealed that ratings for the show dipped in the second season; it dropped to almost 40%. As we all know, ratings are very crucial to the longevity of any TV series, as such, it was not surprising that the series cannot continue.
Other than the ratings, the cancellation came shortly after an internal shakeup at Marvel. Jeph Loeb is expected to step down as head of Marvel Television following the promotion of Kevin Feige to Chief Creative Officer for all of the Marvel empire. While it is unknown if the show’s demise is a direct result of these shake-ups, it is believed to be a contributing factor.
The one silver lining for the Cloak & Dagger fandom, however, is that they probably haven’t seen the last of Tyrone and Tandy just yet. Marvel TV has an ongoing collaboration with Disney+ and this could mean that the series is coming back on the screen after all. Holt and Joseph voiced their respective characters on the Disney XD animated series Spider-Man and are set to cross over to the upcoming season 3 of Hulu’s Runaways which is scheduled for a December 13th, 2019 release.
