The Morpho machine is shutting down. Apple TV+ has canceled “The Big Door Prize” after two seasons, PvNew has /confirm/ied. The series, from Skydance Television and CJ ENM/Studio Dragon, ended its Season 2 run on June 12.
“The Big Door Prize” comes from writer David West Read (“Schitt’s Creek”) and is based on the M.O. Walsh novel of the same name. The whimsical series earned solid nods in Season 1, which aired in spring 2023 and starred Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Josh Segarra, Ally Maki, Djouliet Amara, Sammy Fourlas, Crystal Fox and Damon Gupton.
The series centers on the residents of Deerfield, a small town that is upended when a mysterious machine appears in the general store, promising to reveal each resident’s true life potential.
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Read serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Matt Thunell for Skydance Television, Miky Lee, Jey-hyun Kim and Hyun Park for Studio Dragon, Bill Bost and Sarah Walker. Steven Tsuchida, Heather Jack, Jordan Canning, Satya Bhabha and Declan Lowney direct the series.
“The Big Door Prize” was Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh status during its first season. Wrote PvNew in its review last year: “It’s an interesting comparison of generations, but it also leads to honest conversations about the pressure to succeed, the dangers of settling and flexibility in the pursuit of dreams. The show is careful never to answer those questions, mind you, but it presents these topics and allows viewers to walk away with their own interpretations. The series uses M.O. Walsh’s novel as a launch point, but settles into a mix of sci-fi, philosophy and small-town comedy as the episodes unroll. Former “Schitt’s Creek” writer David West Read helms the adaptation, and his experience with quirky small-town characters certainly comes through.”
TV Line was first with the news of the cancellation.
