USA Network, citing a programming strategy shift, has opted not to renew The Purge or Treadstone for new seasons. Both series were based on popular Universal movie franchises, The Purge & Bourne, respectively. The Purge ends its run after two seasons while Treadstone was one and done.
The big problem for both series was that they were both incredibly expensive & weren’t attracting enough live viewers to warrant renewals. The Purge started strong in season one but viewership was down 50% this season, although it was still a steady & solid demo performer. Treadstone was averaging about 502,000 viewers but held its own when delayed viewing was factored in. At the end of the day, the live ratings weren’t enough to be offset by streaming deals the series’ had with Amazon Prime.
Another reason for the cancellations is that the network is stepping away from ongoing scripted series and toward more live and unscripted programming, along with “eventized” scripted projects. This strategy is being implemented by other basic cable networks such as Turner, A+E, and ViacomCBS. Unscripted and live programming is cheaper to produce and the ratings threshold isn’t nearly as high to maintain its status.
The Purge series revolved around a 12-hour period when all crime, including murder, is legal in an altered America ruled by a totalitarian political party. Treadstone explored the origin story and present-day actions of a CIA black ops program known as Operation Treadstone — a covert program that uses behavior-modification protocol to turn recruits into nearly superhuman assassins. The first season follows sleeper agents across the globe as they’re mysteriously “awakened” to resume their deadly missions.
