If you were a fan of BBC’s science fiction dramedy, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and are shocked to see it be canceled, then you have the opportunity to help save it. There’s a petition against Netflix, BBC, and AMC up on Change.org (link is embedded) for the show to be renewed for a third season and more. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the show will come back, just that there are people out there trying to save it. With about 68,000 of their intended goal of 75,000 people signing the petition, there’s a good chance that Netflix, BBC, and AMC will listen. Well… maybe.
I previously covered the news surrounding the cancellation of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, reporting that the show was most likely taken off the air because of its bad ratings. Despite leaving viewers at a point in the story where much more was about to happen, the ratings could not be ignored (apparently). But that’s not the only thing plaguing the development of a next season of the show.
Max Landis, the show’s creator, was accused of multiple accounts of sexual abuse and harassment back in December, right after the show was canceled. It’s almost as if BBC knew that some terrible news was about to break. Since then, though, there have been no further allegations on Max Landis, only speculation. A lot of people have gone on social media to bash on the guy, but nothing has been released to prove he’s the predator that people are making him out to be. Even Pajiba–who’s notorious for hating him–says that he could be innocent, despite him being a known asshole to everyone around him.
I’m not trying to debunk any of these women’s accounts by any means, as sexual abuse or harassment is awful, and those that commit it should be punished. I’m just saying that maybe Landis is innocent of the crimes that people are trying to accuse him of. I like to look at this kind of scenario from both perspectives, but sometimes that’s hard to do when the crime (like what Landis is accused of) is so heinous. All I wish for? That a person is punished for the crimes they did commit, and not the other way around. In related news, Landis isn’t involved in any way with the sequel to Bright, a Netflix original he wrote the script for.
So where does this controversy leave Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency? Even if this petition succeeds, who will take over as the show’s creator/lead writer? With all the controversy surrounding Max Landis, the show may look completely different if it does come back, because he may not be involved. Say what you will about the guy, but I think his work on Dirk Gently was amazing. He’ll be missed, at least, in this regard.