Peacock has officially canceled its Cold War spy thriller Ponies after just one season, Deadline reported. This decision comes five months after the show first arrived on the streaming platform on January 15.
While the series managed to secure a 94% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 83% score from regular viewers, it seems that positive reviews weren’t enough to keep the show on the air. The series failed to crack the Nielsen streaming top 10 charts during its initial release, and ultimately, there simply weren’t enough people tuning in to justify the cost of a second season.
The series starred Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson as Bea and Twila, two secretaries working at the American Embassy in Moscow in 1977. The plot centered on their roles as PONIES, which stands for persons of no interest in intelligence speak. Their lives took a dramatic turn when their husbands were killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, forcing the pair to transition into CIA operatives.
The first season left viewers with several cliffhangers
Bea was portrayed as an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants, while Twila was characterized as a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless. Together, they worked to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy while trying to solve the mystery behind the deaths of their husbands.
The show featured a notable cast both in front of and behind the camera. Beyond Clarke and Richardson, the cast featured Adrian Lester, Artjom Gilz, Nicholas Podany, Petro Ninovskyi, and Vic Michaelis. Behind the scenes, the show was co-created and executive produced by David Iserson and Susanna Fogel, who reportedly spent seven years developing the project. Fogel also directed four of the eight episodes, while Mike Daniels served as a co-showrunner and executive producer alongside Iserson. The series was produced by Universal Television.
The first season left viewers with several major cliffhangers that will now remain unresolved. In the final moments of the season finale, Bea and Twila were left being held at gunpoint by the KGB. To make matters more complicated, Bea’s husband Chris, who was previously presumed dead, made a surprise return. The Moscow U.S. Embassy was also breached by Soviet intelligence, and Bea’s asset and love interest, Sasha, was left in limbo after being gravely wounded.
Iserson and Fogel had clear plans for where the story was headed. During a Q&A with Deadline at the time of the series release, the creators explained that they intended for the second season to focus on Bea and Twila putting their newly acquired skills to use now that the stakes were much higher. They noted that the political crisis created by the finale had thrown everything into chaos.
Despite the abrupt end, the show is still finding some success in the awards circuit. It recently won the BetaSeries Public Prize at the 65th Monte-Carlo Television Festival, and Richardson earned a nomination at the Gotham Television Awards earlier this year. Furthermore, the show and its stars are considered solid contenders in the comedy categories at the 2026 Emmys, with voting for that event having concluded yesterday.
Iserson shared his thoughts on the cancellation on Instagram, describing the show as a bold, surprising, and stylish series that was not like anything else on television. He maintained a positive perspective on the project, stating, “I still believe that trying to make the kind of thing that is hard to make in this business – for us, a period show with two female leads and an unusual tone – is worth it.” He concluded his message by saying, “Goodbye to Bea and Twila for now. I hope we all get to visit them again.”
Opinion: It is always tough to see a unique show with such high critical praise get cut short. For fans who enjoyed the specific tone and the chemistry between the leads, the lack of closure on those season-ending cliffhangers is undoubtedly a bummer.
Published: Jun 24, 2026 12:15 pm