Peacock has announced that spy series Ponies has been canceled after just one season.
The show, which was led by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke and The White Lotus’ Hayley Lu Richardson, will come to an end despite receiving a string of positive feedback. It currently has a score of 94% on reviews aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Ponies, which was set in 1977, blended a thriller storyline with comedic elements. Clarke and Richardson played secretaries working at the United States embassy in Moscow who became CIA operatives after their husbands are killed in mysterious circumstances.
The full eight-episode season was released on the streaming service in January.
Fans on social media reacted with dismay to the news.
One fan on X wrote: “Nooooo. I loved this show – literally was the reason I finally subscribed to Peacock.”
“Too bad. I really liked this show. Great soundtrack!” another added while a third lamented: “Damn. A really entertaining and smart show.”
A reason for the cancelation wasn’t immediately clear, and Peacock doesn’t share ratings information. However, Ponies failed to make the Nielsen streaming top 10 charts following its release.
The cast also included Adrian Lester, Artjom Gilz, Nicholas Podany, Petro Ninovskyi, and Vic Michaelis.
It was reported earlier this year that Clarke endured a painful experience while filming sex scenes for the series.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
In an interview with The Wrap alongside Richardson, Clarke said she “made out” with a bunch of her co-stars for the series. In fact, during one day of filming, she said she kissed three men for “hours,” resulting in a physical injury.
“Just keep bringing it — I’m going to sit on this thing, you’re going to bring them in, we’re going to pretend to have sex. I broke a rib that day,” she said.
Richardson, who was on set later that day, confirmed Clarke’s story, adding: “She really did. She’s such a tiny little sensitive body, meant she broke a rib.”
Clarke joked that when she went to the doctor because of the rib injury, she was honest about how it happened. “Sex! Times three!” she told him.
However, Clarke clarified that she’s since recovered after Richardson asked if her rib healed. “It just about did,” she responded. “It didn’t like fully break. It just popped out a little bit.”
Clarke told The New York Times that the plot of Ponies was very different from her best-known role in Game of Thrones, where she played the exiled princess of the Targaryen dynasty, Daenerys. She starred on the goliath HBO series from 2011 to 2019.
“I felt like they were giving me a voice,” she told the publication about working in Ponies. “Which doesn’t always happen.”
However, she initially was nervous about taking on a big part in another show after working on Game of Thrones for so long. “I was definitely, like… a lead in a TV show? I know what that commitment feels like.”
