When Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews sent Geena Davis the script for the first episode of what would become their Netflix sci-fi drama The Buroughs, the actress was all in on the show and her character, Renee, especially, a vibrant, confident former music manager who resides in the titular retirement village.
“I was like, ‘This is crazy how perfect this is for me,’ Davis tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And then when I met with them, and I said that, they said, ‘Well, we wrote it with you in mind, hoping you would say yes.’”
That she did, along with co-stars Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Bill Pullman, Denis O’Hare and Clarke Peters, the retirees at the center of the series who go against the owners of their community when they find out they’re using it as a front to drain residents of their brain fluid and feed it to a creature that allows them to stay young.
In the final episode, “Triple Audible,” the gang succeeds in their quest to take down the youth-obsessed CEO and his wife. And it’s a good thing they did, as Netflix just announced the Matt and Ross Duffer-produced series won’t be renewed for a second season.
Davis says the cast wasn’t given an explanation for the cancellation. “Fortunately, the producers, who became our dear, dear friends, were able to tell us before the news came out, and we’re all terribly disappointed. Honestly, I don’t know what happened. I think it’s probably rare for a show to not get picked up and to have it announced that it’s not being picked up while it’s still in the top 10.
