On Wednesday, one day before its Season 3 finale was set to air, The Other Two got the axe. In a statement, creators Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider said the acclaimed Max comedy, about millennial siblings (Hélene Yorke and Drew Tarver) grappling with the overnight success of their 13-year-old brother (and which gave Molly Shannon one of her meatiest roles), was always supposed to end after 30 episodes.
“It is bittersweet to say goodbye to the Dubek family after three seasons, but we always knew, both creatively and personally, that this was where we wanted to end [the characters’] stories,” Kelly and Schneider said.
However, as per The Hollywood Reporter, there may be a darker reason it came to a close:
Multiple sources involved with The Other Two confirm Kelly and Schneider were the subject of complaints to human resources over behavior on set and in the writers room. These include allegations that Kelly verbally abused writers and overworked crew and claims that Schneider enabled his behavior.
According to sources, the production conducted a formal investigation into the behavior, during which Kelly and Schneider were not permitted on set for a period. Kelly and Schneider were formally cleared of wrongdoing and allowed to return.
That said, several insiders said there was no connection between the complaints and the show’s sudden ending.
Rumors of behind-the-scenes tension on The Other Two were allegedly an open secret. Tina Fey even directly referenced the alleged strife in March while speaking at the PEN America Literary Awards, while getting in a dig at her old SNL and 30 Rock teammate Lorne Michaels, who also executive produced The Other Two.
“Nobody indulges writers like Lorne Michaels,” she told the crowd. “Lorne, you have unleashed an army of monsters into the world. You know it, I know it, and the crew of The Other Two knows it — oh I was supposed to change that. I was supposed to change that. That’s inappropriate. Oh well, it’s not livestreaming.”
Whatever the case, the Other Two episode that hits Max on June 29 will be its last.