Warning: This post contains mild spoilers for The Time Traveler's Wife


Why The Time Traveler’s Wife was canceled after season 1. Television is a tough business. Any show — regardless of which network or streaming service its airing — could be canceled at any point. Such was the case with The Time Traveler’s Wife starring Theo James and Game of Thrones alum Rose Leslie. The six-episode series ended with Clare and Henry’s wedding, but it turns out audiences won’t get to see where the HBO series goes next.

The Time Traveler’s Wife was created by Steven Moffat (whose Doctor Who stories were influenced by author Audrey Niffenegger's novel). Based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger (which was previously adapted into a film starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana), the series followed Clare and Henry’s love story, which was mired in complications related to time travel. While Moffat had plans to continue telling Clare and Henry’s story beyond one season, and there was enough book material to do so, the execs at HBO decided The Time Traveler’s Wife was not worth renewing. However, there was no specific reason attributed to the series’ early demise and a statement released from HBO only thanked Moffat and the cast for their work on the show, which initially seemed like it would play as a miniseries.

There are many potential reasons why HBO canceled The Time Traveler’s Wife. The series received mostly negative reviews, with an aggregated Rotten Tomatoes score of 38% from 39 critics. This likely didn’t help the show, with some reviewers critiquing Henry’s time traveling grooming Clare from a very young age despite not being able to control it (which was addressed in the series). However, online audiences largely felt differently, giving it a score of 85% from 286 Rotten Tomatoes users. On the ratings side, The Time Traveler’s Wife premiered to 294,000 viewers. The ratings dropped over its six-episode run, but the series maintained a 223,000 overall viewer average and 0.03 in the 18-49 demo. Compared to other HBO series — like The White Lotus, Euphoria, and The Gilded Age, which premiered to more than 400,000 viewers that increased over the course of its first season — The Time Traveler’s Wife was behind in the ratings.


That said, HBO hasn’t always relied on high ratings to keep shows around, especially since they don’t have to worry about ads. But while it was the most streamed HBO series for the month of June, it’s possible The Time Traveler’s Wife wasn’t marketed enough to gain enough traction or buzz to draw enough people to the show. Although many seemed to enjoy the series overall, some viewers felt there was little chemistry between Theo James and Rose Leslie, which is a requirement to carry the narrative built around their relationship. The story was also such that some were surprised it wasn’t a mini-series to begin with and it can be argued it didn’t need more seasons.

HBO is no stranger to canceling shows after just one season (though it remains a rarity). Sometimes it's due to absurdly high production costs, which wasn't the case for The Time Traveler’s Wife, and so it seems the show's demise was was probably a combination of low viewership, storytelling, and overall poor critical reception. Whatever the case, HBO execs and spokesperson did not give a concrete reason for why The Time Traveler’s Wife was canceled, which leaves viewers to speculate about the reasons until more information is hopefully given down the line.