Hulu Cancels One of Its Most Well-Received Female-Led Series After One Season

The Other Black Girl season 1 premiered on Hulu last year and proved to be a solid hit with its thrilling premise and intriguing commentary on workplace racism—leading fans to wonder why the well-received show hasn’t been renewed.

Based on the book of the same name by Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl follows Nella (Sinclair Daniel), who works as an editorial assistant at Wagner Books. Despite her stellar work, she is often underappreciated and feels misunderstood as the sole Black woman in the company—which is why Nella is so thrilled when the confident and collected Hazel-May McCall (Ashleigh Murray) joins the company and quickly befriends her. However, Nella begins to notice that her co-workers seem to give Hazel preferential treatment. On top of that, several strange incidents leave her seeking answers about Hazel and Wagner Books.

The show received praise for its outstanding performances, strong adaptation of the source material, and delightful blend of humor and horror. The Other Black Girl also inspired interesting conversations about racism in the workplace and the pressure Black women feel to conform to societal expectations. Although it adapted Zakiya’s full novel, it changed the ending to add some hope for viewers and to leave the door open for a second season.

Will The Other Black Girl get a second season?

Unfortunately, after months of silence, Hulu officially canceled The Other Black Girl after just one season. The streamer did not give a reason for the cancellation. The likeliest explanation is that the show didn’t attract enough viewers. Another possibility is that The Other Black Girl received mixed reviews from those who did watch it.

Despite earning positive reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and being given the prestigious Seal of Female Empowerment in Entertainment from the Critics Choice Awards, not all viewers were receptive to the series. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score sat at 50% in contrast to the critics’ fresh score of 86%. Most of the negative audience reviews mentioned the pacing, with many saying they disliked the final plot twist. However, many also acknowledged that the show’s second season had potential after season 1’s cliffhanger ending.

In Zakiya Dalila Harris’s novel, the story ends on a note of finality. While powerful and chilling, the ending likely throws some readers off because it is so bleak and offers no resolution to the major conflict at hand. Hulu’s series throws in a final plot twist in which the protagonist chooses not to conform and is in a position to protect women like her who might be targeted by the sisterhood. Readers who were disappointed by the book’s bleak ending may have enjoyed the spark of hope in the series and the idea that an entirely new story might sprout from the show.

Unfortunately, we will never know what The Other Black Girl season 2 would’ve looked like.

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Rachel Ulatowski

Rachel Ulatowski is a Staff Writer for The Mary Sue, who frequently covers DC, Marvel, Star Wars, literature, and celebrity news. She has over three years of experience in the digital media and entertainment industry, and her works can also be found on Screen Rant, JustWatch, and Tell-Tale TV. She enjoys running, reading, snarking on YouTube personalities, and working on her future novel when she's not writing professionally. You can find more of her writing on Twitter at @RachelUlatowski.