Paramount+’s canceled Halo TV series has found a new lease of life on Netflix, swiftly becoming one of the streaming service’s most popular shows.
Halo premiered its first season in March 2022, although it struggled pretty much from the get-go. Paramount+ didn’t release much in terms of streaming numbers, so we’re not entirely sure how many viewers it pulled in, but suffice to say, Paramount canceled the video game adaptation after two seasons.
Now, however, after debuting on Netflix, Halo has rapidly climbed the ranks to become one of the most-viewed series on the streaming service. It’s currently the fourth most-popular TV show in the U.S. chart.
You may recall that the series caused a bit of a stir when Master Chief removed his helmet, something we’ve never seen him do in the decades-old game franchise. Actor Pablo Schreiber doubled down on this decision, saying: “People who don’t feel the helmet was necessary to come off, they’re at such an early conception of what the show could be.
“In order to examine the discrepancy between these two versions of the character [Chief and John-117], you can’t tell that story without taking the helmet off. If you don’t agree with the helmet coming off in the show, you don’t like our show. So, there’s no point discussing it.”
Development on a Halo TV series began as far back as 2013, but Paramount+ didn’t start filming until 2019. It starred Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, along with Natascha McElhone, Jen Taylor, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy, and Danny Sapani. Kyle Killen and Steven Kane shepherded the first season, and David Wiener took point for the second.
IGN gave Season 2 of Halo a 6/10, writing: “Despite its improvements over the previous season, Halo Season 2 still feels too insipid and perfunctory to have any appeal beyond its action.”
Despite the failure of the Halo TV show, we’ve seen plenty of video game adaptations enjoy enormous success on streaming platforms. Prime Video’s Fallout was a smash hit, for example, and HBO Max’s The Last of Us set viewership records.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
