Canceled: Hulu calls time on another show despite 91% Rotten Tomatoes’ rating

Duncanville, the animated family-comedy led by Amy Poehler, has been canceled after three seasons. 

The show, which was created by Mike Scully, one time showrunner on The Simpsons, his wife and producing partner Julie Thacker Scully and Poelher, launched in February 2020 and was shown on Fox as well as on Hulu. 

It has run for three full seasons of 11 episodes each, however, according to Deadline (opens in new tab), there are six final episodes which were made for a planned fourth season, Fox does not plan to air those six episodes and they will exclusively stream on Hulu later this year.

Duncanville had a starry voice cast with Poehler, Modern Family star Ty Burrell, Riki Lindhome, Betsy Sodaro, Yassir Lester, Zach Cherry, Parks and Recreation’s Rashida Jones, rapper Wiz Khalifa and Joy Osmanski among it. 

The show followed Duncan Harris, an average 15-year-old boy who is always one step away from making a good decision, but who enjoys a rich fantasy life with a wild imagination in which he’s never anything less than amazing.

Poehler voiced both Duncan himself and his mother, with Burrell portraying his father. 

During its three seasons, the show has enjoyed a slew of high-profile guest stars, with Stephen King, Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza and rockers Dave Grohl and Alice Cooper among them. 

The show is Hulu’s second high-profile cancelation in recent days after it axed Woke, the Larmone Morris-led political comedy, at the end of last week. 

What’s the reason for the axe?

Critics liked Duncanville, with the show enjoying a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,  though audiences weren’t quite as keen, with the show’s rating only sitting at 56% there. 

The end of the show comes as Fox prepares to launch two new animated shows in the coming months. 

The first is Grimsburg. That show features a starring voice role from Top Gun: Maverick star Jon Hamm,  the story of a misanthropic detective with an amazing record of solving crimes, but a terrible personal life. It is due to launch in 2023. 

The other is Krapopolis, which comes from Rick and Morty/Community creator Dan Harmon. That has a voice cast that includes Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham, What We Do In The Shadows’ Matt Berry and director Richard Ayoade. 

Krapopolis is set in mythical ancient Greece in amongst all the usual array of Gods and monsters. It’s set to be a big priority for Fox and Hulu, joining an animated slate that already includes The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers. 

Those new properties will need marketing campaigns to launch properly, taking resources away from existing shows. Maybe Duncanville just got squeezed by the combination of these newcomers and the long-running animated behemoths, which basically sell themselves. 

Want to see what else Hulu has to offer? The streamer’s best shows are here.