A show about Elvis as a secret agent from “Archer” writer Mike Arnold and singer-screenwriter John Eddie sounds wild enough to become a hit — or, at the least, a cult favorite. Sadly, “Agent Elvis” wasn’t given long enough to become either, as Netflix canceled the zany enterprise after its first season. That is, the streamer axed the animated series several months after season 1 was made available, which might seem odd, but 2023 was a tumultuous year that claimed many a show too soon.
The cancellation of “Agent Elvis” was perhaps one of the biggest disappointments, if only because the show had so much promise and hype prior to its debut. The series’ trailer promised an outlandish romp featuring Matthew McConaughey as a secret agent version of The King, while early footage from “Agent Elvis” similarly teased a stylish animated show that /Film’s Rafael Motamayor described as “striking,” noting that “Elvis has never looked better.” The fact that the King’s real-life widow, Priscilla Presley, played herself, with McConaughey voicing the titular icon, only sweetened the deal.
What could have possibly put an end to such a show so quickly? Well, the usual financial considerations played a part, but “Agent Elvis” was also just unlucky in terms of its timing.
Agent Elvis was a delightfully off-the-wall series canceled too soon
“Agent Elvis” premiered on March 17, 2023, focusing on the King during his comeback period and beginning with his 1968 Christmas special — a legendary event in Elvis history and one of the best moments from the 2022 “Elvis” movie. Soon after, however, the show takes a turn for the purely fictional when Elvis is recruited by a mysterious government organization known as TCB. He then finds himself battling nefarious forces while trying to maintain his music career in a story that takes him from Las Vegas to Graceland and everywhere in between.
Adding to the show’s appeal beyond that ridiculous premise was the impressive cast of guest stars and characters, which saw Fred Armisen playing Charles Manson, Simon Pegg portraying Paul McCartney, and Jason Mantzoukas lending his voice to Howard Hughes. “Agent Elvis” even threw in a cameo for fans of Baz Luhrmann’s refulgent Elvin biopic.
All of that should have, at least, made for an Adult Swim-style cult success for Netflix. Instead, the series was canceled on November 15, 2023, a mere eight months after it had debuted on the streamer. Deadline reported the news, announcing that “Agent Elvis” had been axed alongside five other Netflix shows, including “Shadow And Bone” and “Glamorous.” The main factor here appears to have been the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild strikes, which had thrown commissioners, channels, and streamers into disarray, with the outlet reporting that Netflix chose not to renew this particular raft of series a week after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended and a month and a half after the WGA strike came to a conclusion. Both strikes had resulted in seven months of production stoppages, which was essentially a death sentence for shows still finding their feet.
2023 was a rough year to debut an Elvis secret agent show
According to Deadline, performance versus cost played a big part in Netflix’s decision not to renew several shows at the tail-end of 2023, “Agent Elvis” included. But the strikes were an extra element that made things particularly difficult, especially for new series struggling to establish themselves. The WGA strike came to a conclusion in September of 2023, with union members securing meaningful gains and protections, perhaps most notably in the sphere of AI, which continues to loom over Hollywood today. (Although some folks, like Ben Affleck, are highly skeptical that AI will take over movies.) Then, in early November, the historic SAG-AFTRA strike also came to an end after seemingly establishing similarly important protections against AI — though many of these have since been called into question.
While many writers and performers were rightly celebrating their wins, several shows were taking the brunt of the fallout. As Deadline noted, the delays in production caused by the strikes had completely upended networks and streamers’ schedules, which evidently created a “pipeline logjam” for late 2024 and 2025. This meant that, had Netflix renewed “Agent Elvis,” viewers would have to wait for much longer than usual for season 2 to arrive. Judging by Netflix’s decision to cancel the show, the company didn’t think the season 1 numbers justified making audiences wait that long. Unless your series was already well-established, then, 2023 was a rough time to debut.
“Agent Elvis” also wasn’t a massive critical hit, garnering an okay 64% on Rotten Tomatoes plus a 76% Popcorn meter score. Perhaps if it had been received slightly better, that might have influenced Netflix’s decision. For now, however, Elvis’ secret agent days appear to be over.
