The cancellation heard, and mourned, around the world. Nickelodeon’s stop-motion animated series Tiny Chef made a heartbreaking announcement on Wednesday — but the way they did it? Well, it’s one for the books.
The series, which ran for three seasons on the network beginning in 2022, took to their social media accounts to release a video of the Tiny Chef himself taking a call from a network executive to find out his show had been cancelled. The stop-motion character even tried to reason with the exec by reminding him, “But we won an Emmy!”
Sadly, it wasn’t enough. After telling the exec “I love you, too” — a phrase that just really stabs you in the heart after the short conversation — Chef hung up and tried to continue working. However, the heartbreak was just too great; he dropped his duster and began to cry, moving to sit on his bed and let the tears flow.
In the caption for the post, the show’s creators — Rachel Larsen, Ozlem “Ozi” Akturk, and Adam Reid — gave their own thoughts and personified Chef in the process, hammering home how hurt he is by the decision.
“Tiny chefs cooking show has officially been cancelled (very unexpected) and without the support of a major network we need crowdfunding to keep cookin’ over here,” the post read.
“We want to thank @nickelodeon for giving Chef two blamazing seasons and all the besties he made there. Chef wouldn’t want anyone to blame his friends over there, he’s just deeply sad he doesn’t get to continue hosting a show he adores.”
The team also confirmed they are crowdfunding to keep the show alive on social media platforms — and surely if another network or streamer tried to pick the show up, they would jump at the chance.
But either way, fans have rallied behind Chef and his show in a way that really took the internet by storm. And honestly, it’s not hard to see why. The video, which has a whopping 2.6 million views on Instagram, is a perfect bite-sized look at how grief sets in when you have to close a door you didn’t want to shut. Truly human and achingly real, the small taste of the character and the show has bewitched fans and non-fans alike, which seems to bode well for the future of our new friend and his show.
Here’s hoping the little guy can get back in the kitchen ASAP.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
