Why Max Canceled Kaley Cuoco's The Flight Attendant

After 12 seasons of playing the good-hearted Penny on "The Big Bang Theory" (deemed the show's most likable character by /Film), Kaley Cuoco had a taste for something darker, wilder, but still, in its way, funny. She alighted on a sharply written novel by Chris Bohjalian called "The Flight Attendant," which, along with show developer Steve Yockey, she expanded into a two-season series about the alcohol-induced misadventures of Cassie Bowden. That's the thumbnail sketch, at least.

Boiling "The Flight Attendant" down to its hook does it something of a disservice. Yes, it starts as a murder mystery wherein a drunk Cassie struggles to piece together the events of the night that led to her ending up in bed with a dead man whose throat has been slashed, but once the FBI get involved it veers off in wholly unexpected directions. Then came season 2, which again thrust Cassie into a surfeit of international intrigue, this time as a CIA asset contending with a murderous doppelgänger. The season quickly gets stranger and stranger, but critics and the show's fans were on board throughout, and ready for more upon its conclusion.

So why did season 3 of "The Flight Attendant" never happen? You'll have to ask Ms. Cuoco.

In January of 2024, Max announced that the series, which was a surprise hit two years prior for streamer's pre-Discovery merger iteration of HBO Max, would not be returning for a third season. This was, somewhat shockingly, due to Cuoco's decision that two seasons of Cassie was enough for her. As Cuoco said in a statement:

"I always envisioned ['The Flight Attendant'] as a limited series and thanks to an incredible creative team, we were able to deliver two thrilling seasons. Personally, playing Cassie has been a dream come true and I am so grateful for everyone who played a part in bringing this extremely original series to life."

There was no big, bad streaming/network executive to blame this time. It was Cuoco's call, and, really, if your star has lost her zeal for the project, it's best for the fans to not go through the motions just for the paycheck. Steve Yockey, who chatted with /Film about the show's second season, chimed in via his own personal statement thusly:

"'The Flight Attendant' was a true passion project and the reception from viewers and critics alike was pretty stunning. Our unorthodox spectacle of a show really found people. As we all move on to new projects, those two seasons of television and the incredible team of professionals behind them will always stay at the top of my list."

You've got to respect Cuoco's bold decision to walk away from a well-liked series that earned her two straight Primetime Emmy nominations, and took home a DGA Award for Best Director (Susanna Fogel for the episode "In Case of Emergency"). She's since moved on to the not-quite-as-well-liked "Based on a True Story," the new season of which will be available to binge on Peacock starting November 21, 2024.