Not Suitable for Work Canceled at Hulu After One Season, but There May Still Be Hope

Well, that workplace romance didn't last nearly long enough. Hulu has officially canceled Not Suitable for Work after just one season, bringing Mindy Kaling's latest comedy to an abrupt end only two months after its freshman run wrapped. And if you watched that finale and thought you were getting answers about AJ, Davis and that kiss next season, Hulu apparently has some unfortunate news for all of us.

The cancellation comes after Not Suitable for Work premiered June 2 and introduced viewers to five ambitious twentysomethings attempting to build careers, relationships and something resembling functional adult lives in New York City's Murray Hill neighborhood. Ella Hunt, Avantika, Will Angus, Jack Martin and Nicholas Duvernay led the ensemble as AJ, Abby, Davis, Josh and Kel, with Jay Ellis also appearing as AJ's boss, Bill Gibson. The show wrapped its nine episode first season on June 23, leaving plenty of personal and romantic mess behind for a second season that Hulu has now decided it doesn't want.

That Finale Just Became a Lot More Painful

The cancellation stings a little more because Not Suitable for Work absolutely did not end like a series expecting to disappear. The finale complicated an already messy romantic situation when AJ and Davis kissed, only for Josh, who previously hooked up with AJ in college, to catch them. It was exactly the kind of development designed to send everyone into Season 2 wondering how spectacularly awkward things were about to become.

Now we may never get the payoff, at least not on Hulu. That's becoming one of the more frustrating parts of getting invested in streaming television. Shows are allowed to end their first seasons setting up bigger stories, only for viewers to discover a few months later that the cliffhanger was apparently also the series finale. Y'all, can we at least get a warning before becoming emotionally invested in these people?

The comedy came from Kaling and showrunner Charlie Grandy, who previously worked together on The Sex Lives of College Girls. Its supporting and recurring roster included Victor Garber, Greg Germann, Judy Gold, Ego Nwodim, Constance Wu, Harry Richardson, Laura Bell Bundy, May Hong, Bhavesh Patel, Emilia Suárez and Michael Benjamin Washington.

Not Suitable for Work Might Not Be Completely Dead

There is at least one reason fans shouldn't start planning the funeral just yet. Warner Bros. Television, which produces Not Suitable for Work, reportedly intends to shop the comedy to other potential homes. That doesn't guarantee another streamer will swoop in with a rescue, but it does mean the door to Season 2 isn't completely closed.

The series also appears to have connected better with viewers than it did with critics. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists Season 1 at 54 percent from critics and 82 percent from audiences, a pretty sizable gap that suggests there was an audience enjoying this group even if reviewers were considerably more divided.

For now, though, the official verdict is rough: Not Suitable for Work will not return for Season 2 at Hulu. All nine episodes remain available to stream, and we'll be watching to see whether Warner Bros. Television manages to find AJ, Abby, Davis, Josh and Kel a new workplace somewhere else.

Because after that kiss? We have questions, Hulu.