‘The Purge’ And ‘Treadstone’ Canceled At The USA Network

The Purge has ended and Treadstone will wake no more.

USA Network has decided not to proceed with new seasons of its two high-profile dramas The Purge and Treadstone amid a larger network programming shift. Both dramas were in-house shows and were based on the widely popular Universal franchises The Purge series and the Bourne films. The Purge has ended after two seasons while Treadstone has met its end only after one run.

According to Deadline, both dramas were expensive to produce while suffering from less than satisfactory views on linear television. In its second season, The Purge averaged at 562 000 same-day viewers, barely reaching the halfway mark of its initial views on its first season. Treadstone, on the other hand, drew a little lesser at 502 000 viewers. Both shows showed increases in delayed viewing. Despite that, the economics of both shows weren’t favorable even with streaming deals the company had with Amazon.

The two shows also join USA original drama Dare Me which was recently canceled after one season. These are part of the overall programming shift at the NBCU network as it steps away from ongoing scripted series to more live and unscripted programming. Now, USA Network is doubling down on its strengths including programs like its flagship show Monday Night Raw from WWE and unscripted shows like The Biggest Loser, Temptation Island, and Chrisley Knows Best. The network is also looking towards more event-style scripted programs. Two upcoming shows on its roster are the second season of Dirty John and the late daredevil Evel Knievel limited series starring Milo Ventimiglia.

USA’s scripted lineup also includes Briarpatch and the anthology The Sinner. Both are still awaiting word on their fates. Lastly, there is also Queen of the South which has been renewed for a fifth season although no premiere date has been set yet.

The Purge series was also produced by Blumhouse Television. And it was executive produced by film franchise creator James DeMonaco, Thomas Kelly, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, and Sebastien K. Lemercier. Like the films, the series revolved around a 12-hour period when all crime is legal in an alternate America ruled by a totalitarian party.

Treadstone explored the origin story and the present-day operations of the CIA black ops program known as Operation Treadstone which created Jason Bourne. It’s a covert program that uses a behavior-modification protocol to erase all memory and personality from a person and turn them into nearly superhuman assassins. The first season followed sleeper agents across the globe as they’re mysteriously awakened to continue their deadly missions. Tim Kring wrote the series and executive produced with Ramin Bahrani, who directed the pilot. Ben Smith, Jeffrey Weiner, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, and Justin Levy also executive produced.