Showtime will not renew SMILF for a third season, following allegations of on-set misconduct by the show’s creator and star, Frankie Shaw.
On Friday, the network released a statement detailing its decision. Via THR:
“After weighing a variety of factors, Showtime has decided that SMILF will not move forward for a third season. The remainder of the second season will continue to air as scheduled on Showtime through its series finale on March 31. We remain extremely proud of the two seasons of SMILF, and thank Frankie Shaw for her singular voice and unique creation, as well as the dozens of writers, producers, actors, directors and crew members both in Los Angeles and on location in Boston, who contributed to this exceptional series.”
News of an investigation into Shaw’s on-set conduct broke in December, just ahead of the release of the Golden Globe-nominated show’s second season. Among Shaw’s alleged misdeeds are accusations that she mishandled sex scenes, violated an actor’s contract, denied writing credit to assistants, and separated writers on the show by race.
Samara Weaving, who played the new girlfriend of Shaw’s baby daddy, quit the series after claiming her contract was breached during a sex scene filmed in the second season. Staffers also claimed that they were not properly credited, and that writers of color were separated from white writers on set.
In her own statement released Friday, Shaw said only that, “I can’t express how much I’ve loved making this show, how much I love the cast and crew and appreciate Showtime and ABC as creative partners.”