It was a sad day for TV lovers everywhere when it was announced back in August that CBS had decided to cancel Under the Dome after three seasons. That means we are just mere hours away from the series (not season) finale and being forced to say goodbye to these beloved Chester's Mill characters for good… or are we? The fate of any given TV show is not nearly as cut and dry as it used to be even five years ago. If fans want a show around bad enough, there's always the possibility that another network or streaming service could decide to take up the reigns and save the series from eternal extinction. The only question is — is something like that even possible for this Stephen King adaptation? Could Netflix or Hulu pick up Under the Dome for a fourth season run?
To be brutally honest, the show's prospects don't look all that promising. For starters, fans don't seem to be nearly as upset over this news as they were for the brutally tragic Hannibal cancelation. Sure, people were disappointed, but not to the same extent as the Fannibals wrath. There was an immediate outcry for another distributor to swoop in and save the day, while Bryan Fuller made it clear that he hadn't given up hope of the show's continued existence just yet. Meanwhile, Under the Dome's fate has just been accepted at face value without much of an uproar to fight against it.
Even the statement that CBS released in light of the show's cancelation gives the impression that the storyline will have a sense of closure and finality about it.
"We’re excited to present the final chapter in Chester’s Mill as the story comes full circle, with the Dome coming down as dramatically as it went up… in the series finale, when the Dome comes down, many questions about its origin and power will be answered, as two groups of residents engage in one final conflict that some won’t survive."
Sounds kinda permanent, don't you think? But hey, just for the sake of it, let's look at our options. Netflix could pick the series up, though it seems very unlikely given that the streaming service is focusing more on debuting original shows than continuing with old ones. Then there's always Hulu, which came in to save The Mindy Project after FOX showed it the door. However, it's important to know that Hulu is partially owned by NBC, ABC, and FOX… not CBS, which makes the odds of it stepping in highly unlikely. I'd say our best bet would lie in Amazon, but — as I mentioned before — the fan outcry for Under the Dome's return is shaky at best, so the streaming service may not think it's worth the risk.
So as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I'm tempted to think that the show is dunzo. Characters may be Under the Dome, but fans appear to be Over the Dome. (Too soon?)
Images: Brownie Harris/CBS (2)
