Andy DehnartMTV has cancelled Buckwild following the death of its star, Shain Gandee. Production was previously reported to have been suspended indefinitely.
The show’s producer isn’t happy, to say the least, saying this “smells of shit” in a fascinating Hollywood Reporter piece. He said that, as of Friday, there were plans to film four more episodes, which would be added to four that were already filmed and a special about Shain.
Executive producer J.P. Williams of Parallel Entertainment told the paper that “There was no explanation” for the cancellation, and ripped the network:
“This is the network that has shows about teen pregnancy. They’ll stick by a show that allows you to abandon a child, but a kid dies by accident doing what he does for a living [mudding] and they cancel the show? There’s something that smells of shit here on every level.”
He said he’ll continue the series, because “My job is to protect these kids… This will get ugly.”
Update: MTV officially announced the cancellation with this statement, and also announced that a special tribute to Shain will air Sunday, which consists of a marathon of the show’s first season:
“After careful consideration, MTV will not be moving forward with season two of ‘Buckwild’ in West Virginia. We love the cast and the show and this was not an easy decision, but given Shain’s tragic passing and essential presence on the show, we felt it was not appropriate to continue without him. Instead, we are working on a meaningful way to pay tribute to his memory on our air and privately.
On Sunday, we will be running a special, ‘Buckwild: WV to the NYC,’ which was shot before production had begun on season two. With the support of his parents, Dale and Loretta Gandee, we will run the tribute following a day of programming dedicated to Shain in which we will air the entire first season of ‘Buckwild.'”