Editor's note: The below contains mild spoilers for Season 1 of Let the Right One In.It continues to be rough out there in the world of streaming. On Monday, it was announced that the series Let the Right One In would not be continuing on at Showtime. Despite having a strong first season that boasted some really compelling performances which made for one of the best episodes of last year, its future now remains uncertain following a disappointing cancellation. It wasn’t alone as the rebooted Dexter: New Blood, the already-shot Three Women, and the new American Gigolo all got the axe as part of a rebranding at the streamer. While cancelations are always part of making television, there is something that continues to feel particularly crushing about seeing a litany of streaming shows only run for a single season and then get cut short. While not all are great, many deserve to continue on.
This absolutely remains the case for Let the Right One In, which has become yet another in the growing graveyard of shows that met their end far sooner than they should have. Though it wasn’t ever as sharp as both of the prior films, there was still something that was intriguing about it that stood on its own. In a year that has been defined by great vampire stories, this one could and should have been given the chance to expand. Central to this is the relationship between Mark (Demián Bichir) and his vampire daughter Eleanor (Madison Taylor Baez) as they try to navigate a life that was defined by pain.
This Version of 'Let the Right One In' Differs From the Previous Adaptations
Where the previous takes on this story are primarily about emphasizing how the young girl formed connections elsewhere, this one finds new narrative ground that is grimly heart-wrenching. The more we se how Bichir delicately captures the inner turmoil of how Mark will do anything and everything for Eleanor, the more we are drawn into a darkness that feels constantly suffocating. With a new setting and a warmth that only makes the coldness of the story all the more biting, there is so much for the series to explore about how far you will go for those you love. Rather than just recreating something we already knew, it is treading its own path.
Obviously, this is a fairly familiar type of story to grapple with, and the series doesn't always take the most unique approach in bringing it to life. However, when we get episodes like “More Than You’ll Ever Know” that flash back to how all this began, it makes everything feel fresh in how focused it can be. By the time it reaches the finale, the season strips away all the subterfuge and deception to be about the relationships between the characters. This includes plenty of sinister, bloody sequences where Mark and Eleanor start to drift from each other. When all the noise of the underground world and the experiments fade away, there is a compelling character drama at the core of it all. Both performers are, in their own ways, quite excellent in encapsulating this. Even when the story can be a little scattered and soften the impact of their work, they are able to elevate the material into something greater. Now, we won’t get to see how their fraught emotional journey would have continued, despite a strong foundation being laid for it.
There Is Still More of Eleanor and Mark's Story to Tell
At the center of Let the Right One In is a question about trying to find a cure for Eleanor’s vampirism. Mark has been desperately clinging to this potential solution as it will both ensure a future for his daughter and one for him where he no longer had to kill others to survive. There is always a sense that this is never going to be a genuine way out and is more a pipe dream that can't address their underlying problems. Just when Mark and Eleanor start to think they are on the cusp of a breakthrough, this falls apart underneath them. It leads to them having to hurt even more people, those they care deeply about, and essentially blow up the already fragile life that they have built for themselves. It represents an escalation that could only push the story into darker depths that offer plenty of promise for at least one more season. There's plenty more narrative and thematic ground to cover that would have taken us even further into the psyche of each of them. That is where it could have found its footing and smoothed over the flaws it encountered in the first season. Some of the best shows out there improved when they had a chance to grow into a second season. There is still hope that could happen here, but the looming possibility that it won’t even get the chance remains unfortunate.
What is most disappointing is how this represents a growing pattern. More and more, shows have been being removed from their platforms so they can be written off as losses. Even ones that had found an audience are subsequently stuck in limbo without any way to access them. Not only is Let the Right One In now facing this potential of an unceremonious end, but it was also entirely removed from the streaming site after the news of it not being renewed was announced. It effectively kills off the chance for people to discover all that it managed to do in the first season as well as the potential for them to express their support for another season. This manner of prioritizing business over art, while not unexpected, has just added insult to injury in how brazen it is. It is now that shows will meet their end out of nowhere and then also have any manner by which to see them gone just like that. Both for the sake of the many future stories it still has the potential to tell but also so that its past can be preserved, Let the Right One In more than deserves a chance to find a new way to truly thrive elsewhere.