The series was surprisingly not renewed for a fourth season after ratings continuously dropped, leaving the show hanging with how things ended in Season 3. Reports say that when showrunners received the news that “The Following” had been cancelled, the Season 3 finale had already been filmed and that they were already moving forward with Season 4’s plots.
It was first rumored to be picked up by online streaming service Hulu, but the latter denied it immediately. Netflix, another giant streaming service, was also in talks of carrying on the show’s fourth season, but with no official confirmation, it looks like Netflix also took a pass on the TV series.
The show premiered to strong ratings, instantly creating a huge fan base. Bacon has also won a Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television for his portrayal as Agent Ryan Hardy, but the ratings started to plummet during the show’s second and third seasons. Reports claim the storyline got sour and sour each episode despite the great acting rapport between Bacon and Purefoy.
However, the cast seemed like they already had a clue about the show’s fate as they, with Bacon leading, started to thank fans through Twitter for their love and support for the show weeks before the cancellation had been announced.