Here's why Dark Angel was canceled by FOX after only two seasons - and why season 3 likely won't ever happen. Produced by Academy Award-winning director James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee, Dark Angel was an hour-long, cyberpunk-hip hop fusion sci-fi action series. It starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, a 20-year-old genetically-engineered super-soldier fighting evil in post-apocalyptic Seattle. Dark Angel was heralded as the television debut of Jim Cameron after he won multiple Oscars for directing Titanic and the series premiere on October 3, 2000, was watched by 17.4-million viewers. But, a mere two seasons later, Dark Angel was off the air and the show is still missed by its millions of fans.

Dark Angel arrived at the tail end of a series of female-driven sci-fi and fantasy series in the 1990s, led by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena: Warrior Princess, and La Femme Nikita. Set in 2019, a decade after an electromagnetic pulse detonated by terrorists turned the United States into a third world country, Dark Angel was primarily about Max teaming up with (and falling for) crusading cyber journalist Logan Cale AKA Eyes Only (Michael Weatherly) as the duo righted wrongs in Seattle. Dark Angel also thoroughly explored Max's origins as part of a government program called Project Manticore, where she and dozens of other genetically engineered children (designated the X5 program) were trained from birth to be super soldiers. After Max (then known as X5-452) and dozens of her "brothers and sisters" escaped Project Manticore, she made a life for herself in Seattle while working as a bike messenger for Jam Pony Express. Dark Angel season 2 introduced even more of Max's genetically engineered brethren, including Jensen Ackles as Alec, but it altered the mythology of the series, which was a move that turned off some fans.

Despite Dark Angel's strong start, ratings fell to an average of 10 million viewers in season 1, and the series, which had a budget of $1.3-million per episode, barely received a season 2 renewal. FOX then moved Dark Angel season 2 to Friday nights, which proved to be a disaster as ratings plummeted even further. However, when the director for Dark Angel's season 2 finale fell through, James Cameron himself stepped in to personally direct what became a 90-minute finale titled "Freak Nation", where Max and the other X5s established their own nation-state within Seattle. This marked the first time Cameron directed since winning his Oscars, something he wouldn't do again until Avatar in 2009. "Freak Nation" was also notable for featuring the popular WWE wrestler Amy Dumas AKA Lita in a guest-starring role. However, Dumas seriously injured her neck during production, which required her to take over a year off from wrestling after neck fusion surgery.


Cameron helming Dark Angel season 2's finale seemingly worked and FOX approved the series for a third season. Then, two days later, the network reversed their decision and informed the producers Dark Angel was canceled. In the book Science Fiction Television Series: 1990-2004: Histories, Casts, And Credits For 58 Shows, Cameron said of the cancellation:

They called us on Saturday and told us we were on schedule and we'd been picked up. We got together Saturday night and celebrated. Sunday goes by, and Monday morning we get a call saying, 'No, you're not on the schedule! It's been changed.' I've never heard of that happening...We were supposed to be on a plane on Monday to go to the [network] upfront in New York on Tuesday. They called us that day and told us not to go! I was pissed!
Besides low ratings and financial concerns over the expensive sci-fi series, one of the reasons FOX canceled Dark Angel season 3 was to make room for Firefly, the sci-fi series by Joss Whedon, creator of Dark Angel's forerunner, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ironically, FOX canceled Firefly before it even completed season 1 due to low ratings. A trio of canonical Dark Angel novels were released in 2002-2003 with the final book, After The Dark, revealing the story that would have made up Dark Angel season 3. After Dark Angel, Cameron delivered another billion-dollar blockbuster movie with Avatar while Jessica Alba became a movie star and then founded the Honest Company in 2011, which went on to become a billion-dollar company.