Kathryn Newton Got Real About Her Feelings After Netflix Canceled ‘The Society’ In An Emotional Video

On Friday, Aug. 21, Netflix announced The Society was canceled after one season, despite its initial Season 2 renewal. Kathryn Newton, who played Allie Pressman, went live on Instagram shortly after the news broke to address how she was feeling to fans, and it's an emotional tribute. Kathryn Newton's video reacting to The Society's cancelation covers the fandom's response, sadness that it's over, and looking forward to other projects.

The modern take on a Lord of the Flies theme about young adults forming their own society was a popular watch on Netflix, and after its May 2019 debut, was the streamer officially greenlit The Society for a second season. But Netflix made the unexpected decision to reverse the renewal on Aug. 21, due to production complications resulting from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Shortly after the announcement, Newton began a live stream on Instagram to thank the fans, who were trending the hashtag #SaveTheSociety. In her nearly six-minute video, Newton discussed the sadness she felt for the show ending along with co-star Gideon Adlon, who played Becca Gelb.

"I just wanted to say thank you to all of the fans that are trending Society right now. I just got the news this morning and I'm heartbroken. So heartbroken,” said Newton at the start of the video. “#SaveTheSociety is trending worldwide right now and I couldn't be prouder. I would like for it to be saved too."

After Newton's intro, Adlon joined in on the chat. “I mean, It's definitely a bit of a gut punch," she said. "But you know, our creator told us today the show is there. You can watch it all the time, it's not going away, we're not going away." Adlon continued on a positive note, saying, “On to bigger and better things; everything happens for a reason.” The actor also noted that while they were “bummed about it,” show cancelations happen. “This is the way things work sometimes. We have no control over it.”

Newton and Adlon went on to reveal Season 2 of The Society had already been written and the cast was about to begin shooting it before getting the surprising cancelation news.

"We’re in a pandemic. The world is upside down and we all really wanted to go back and everything was written, so I can't even believe it," Newton said.

"Yeah, everything was written," Adlon said. "I know that the writers and everyone are really bummed." The actor went on to say everyone was excited to go back. "I'm sorry that we left it on such a cliffhanger; we didn't want that," said Adlon. "We've all actually been waiting to go back. We thought we were going back pretty soon actually."

Before ending the video, Newton said the show would remain in their hearts forever, and the pair thanked their fans again for being such a positive force in their work.

Another star to comment on the loss of the show was Alex Fitzalan, who played Harry Bingham. "Very sad news this morning," he wrote alongside an Instagram post on Friday, Aug. 21, which featured shots of him on set. "Not sure what to say right now but I wanted to share some pics of my time on set for Season 1 of The Society. Love you all," he concluded.

While the loss of the show is a blow to its fans and its actors, viewers can still rewatch Season 1 on Netflix and keep their eyes out for other projects the actors may have in the works.