Key Takeaways:

• Starz has formally canceled 50 Cent’s “BMF” after 4 seasons.
• Spinoffs are reportedly in improvement, which can hold the Black Mafia Family universe alive.
• The cancellation highlights shifting traits in Black-led crime dramas and 50 Cent’s evolving TV legacy.

“BMF” won’t be returning for an additional season. On Wednesday (Oct. 29), Starz introduced that the 50 Cent-produced present has been canceled.

The crime drama, which chronicled the rise and fall of the Black Mafia Family, first premiered in 2021 and adopted Demetrius “Big Meech” and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, portrayed by Lil Meech and Da’Vinchi, respectively. According to Variety, there have been discussions about “multiple ‘BMF’ spinoffs” earlier than the present was axed, a few of which “remain in development.”

50 Cent labored on the sequence via his G-Unit Film and Television division in partnership with Lionsgate TV. The forged included Laila Pruitt, Russell Hornsby, La La Anthony, Kash Doll, Myles Truitt and Steve Harris, amongst others. Adding to the star energy, rappers like Eminem, Yung Miami, Lil Baby and Saweetie made cameo appearances all through its four-season run.

The cancellation doesn’t come as a complete shock. In a quarterly earnings name held the day earlier than the Season 4 finale, Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch acknowledged the present’s “underperformance.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, he defined in an after-market analyst name, “This resulted in modest sequential declines in OTT subscribers and revenue.”

Hirsch might have additionally hinted that Season 4 could be the tip of the road throughout a Deutsche Bank media convention in March 2024. “When seasons go from one to two to three to four [seasons], three to four is where the cost really pops because most of the actors get bigger raises, and you have to really manage that,” he shared on the time, per Deadline.

That mentioned, it’s nonetheless considerably shocking provided that Hirsch additionally described “BMF” as one in all Starz’s greatest hits, regardless of costing “half as much” as 50 Cent’s different common crime drama, “Power.”

Taking to Instagram, 50 Cent denied having “any involvement” in BMF’s cancellation. That, nevertheless, didn’t cease him from cracking jokes at Lil Meech’s expense. The rapper shared a photo of the actor’s head edited onto a person holding an “out of work” signal. “What next season, little [n**ga]?” he captioned the publish.