Netflix has dropped the axe on a bunch of its high-profile shows from the past year and among the titles that won’t be returning for additional seasons will be Agent Elvis.
Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Titmouse, the animated action comedy that sees Elvis Presley take on a new life as a secret government spy. It combined some of his best music with a slick animation style for an imaginative and whacky show.
The show had a massive voice cast, including the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Johnny Knoxville, Niecy Nash, Katlin Olson, and Don Cheadle.
Ten episodes were produced in total, dropping on March 17th, 2023 and received relatively good reviews from critics and some controversy among die-hard Elvis fans.
Britanny Vincent for Decider.com was a fan, concluding that “McConaughey’s smooth Southern drawl is the perfect fit for Presley, the animation is fluid and attractive, and the laughs come at you quickly. It’s a raucous good time, and deserves a good, old-fashioned try – even by suspicious minds.”
Since its launch, it was relatively unclear whether or not the show would return for a second season or whether it was designed to be a limited series. In mid-November, however, Deadline announced that Agent Elvis was among five shows that had been canceled. Other animated titles like Farzar and Captain Fall were also among the casualties.
John Eddie, the showrunner of the series, took to Facebook following the announcement of its cancelation to talk about his time working on the show and that he’s super proud of the work they did.
Here’s the statement in full:
“Well it was fun while it lasted.
If you haven’t heard the news there’s no good rockin’ tonight. Agent Elvis has been canceled by Netflix. I knew it was coming but I’m not gonna lie it hurts to see it in print.
As disappointed as I am that there won’t be a second season on Netflix, who knows? Maybe the adventures of Agent Elvis will live on somewhere else. Or in another medium completely.
Or just in my head.
That’s where it started.
I’m good with that too.
Maybe someday I will write a book about the whole adventure but I just want everyone to know that it was an absolute blast making the show and I’m super proud of the work we did.
Agent Elvis opened up some amazing doors for me and more importantly through it all I’ve met some of the coolest, most creative and talented individuals that I’m blessed to now call my friends. Luv each and everyone of you. I’m gonna miss bugging y’all with my craziness.You wanna know the weirdest thing?
I will really miss Agent King, CeCe, Scatter, Bobby Ray, Bertie and The Commander.
And they’re not even real.
Or are they?
Big luv and thanks to Priscilla for everything. You changed my life.
Finally thanks to everyone who watched the show.
What a fun ride.
If I can dream I believe Elvis would’ve loved the show.
As for me I’m looking forward to getting some cool projects. I’ve been working on off the ground. Pitching a new show to Netflix next week called “Is It Cake Or Marilyn Monroe”.
Wish me luck.
Luv je”
Why was Agent Elvis canceled at Netflix?
It was almost certainly down to viewership on the title, which is hard to read given that the series appeared in nearly none of the tools we usually use to track performance on Netflix.
The show didn’t enter the global top 10s following its launch and didn’t appear in a single country’s top 10.
Let’s look at Google Trends against other animated series throughout the year. We can see that Agent Elvis didn’t quite make an impact compared to Blue Eye Samurai and Castlevania: Nocturne. You can see that the show didn’t get as much interest as Captain Fall, which Netflix also canceled.
On IMDb, the show topped out as being the 89th most popular for its launch week and quickly dropped following that.
Are you disappointed Agent Elvis won’t return for a season 2 on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.