'The Flight Attendant' Not Returning to Max for Season 3

The Kaley Cuoco-led drama was canceled after airing for two seasons on the streamer.

Kaley Cuoco's thriller has officially been grounded. The Max original series The Flight Attendant has been canceled after two seasons at the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer. 

"What started out as an attention-grabbing book cover quickly evolved into an extraordinary flight of a lifetime. I always envisioned TFA as a limited series, and thanks to an incredible creative team, we were able to deliver two thrilling seasons," Cuoco, who also served as an executive producer, said in a statement Friday. "Personally, playing Cassie has been a dream come true and I am so grateful for everyone who played a part in bringing this extremely original series to life."

Series creator Steve Yockey added, "The Flight Attendant was a true passion project, and the reception from viewers and critics alike was pretty stunning. Our unorthodox spectacle of a show really found people. As we all move on to new projects, those two seasons of television and the incredible team of professionals behind them will always stay at the top of my list."

Yockey served as showrunner and executive producer alongside co-showrunner and executive producer Natalie Chaidez. Greg Berlanti, Cuoco, Sarah Schechter, David Madden, Suzanne McCormack and Silver Tree were executive producers. Jess Meyer served as co-executive producer, and Bonnie Munoz as producer.

Adapted from Chris Bohjalian's 2018 novel, The Flight Attendant was initially set as a limited series and aired two seasons on the streamer, with the second installment ending in May 2022. 

HBO Max

Cuoco starred alongside series regulars Zosia Mamet, Griffin Matthews, Deniz Akdeniz, Rosie Perez, Mo McRae, Callie Hernandez and JJ Soria. Over two seasons, the series featured appearances by T.R. Knight, Yasha Jackson, Audrey Grace Marshall, Alanna Ubach, Cheryl Hines, Jessie Ennis, Mae Martin, Margaret Cho, Santiago Cabrera, Sharon Stone and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Season 1 of the thriller follows Cassie Bowden (Cuoco) after she wakes up in a hotel room next to a dead man, Alex Sokolov (Michiel Huisman), with no recollection of what happened. Throughout eight episodes, Cassie goes on a messy, chaotic journey in her desperate attempt to seek the truth and find out who killed Alex. It all culminated dramatically when it's revealed in the final two episodes that it was her boy toy Buckley Ware (Colin Woodell), aka Felix, who slit Alex's throat.

The second installment shows Cassie finally accepting every sliver of her imperfect self -- the sides she had been running from this entire time -- while also putting to bed the big mystery plaguing her all season. It turns out CIA boss Dot (Cheryl Hines) was the murderous doppelganger wreaking havoc on Cassie's life! With Dot brought to justice for her two-faced crimes, Cassie also came to discover that Jenny, the unassuming crime podcaster from Alcoholics Anonymous, was anything but -- just someone who was obsessed with Felix, the season 1 killer, and ready to go to bat for the jailed murderer. Of course, Cassie had her revenge and eliminated Jenny for good.

And all was well elsewhere in the Flight Attendant universe, too. Annie and Max finally had their wedding in the finale -- Las Vegas style, complete with "Elvis" -- and Megan could seek the closure she needed after spending much of the season on the lam, going into witness protection by the end of the season. 

HBO Max

Cuoco seemed satisfied with the season's finale acting as the show's final note when she told People she wasn't ready for another season after last May. 

"Now I'm like, 'We did two. We should probably be done.' And I think I've been outnumbered with that thought," Cuoco, who earned her first Emmy nomination for the role, shared. "There's definitely interest in doing a third season. I think for me, at this moment, the plane has landed."

She added, "I mean, we've done so much this season. Even in the eight episodes, we've done so much story that I'm thinking, 'Well, what could we do next?' So, it's going to take a lot of thought to make sure if we go back that it's better than the last two, which is very hard to do."

The best part about season 2's finale, Cuoco told the outlet, is that it could be done but that it also leaves room for the show to continue. "I think the writers and the team did a really beautiful job in tying it up in a pretty bow," she noted. "But if you had to open the bow, it would be okay."

Meanwhile, the actress is promoting her latest project, her film Role Play, and enjoying life as a mom after giving birth to her daughter Matilda, whom she shares with partner Tom Pelphrey, in March 2023. 

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The film, out Jan. 12 exclusively on Prime Video, also stars David Oyelowo as Cuoco's husband. 

"We were best buds from the start," Cuoco gushed of her co-star to ET at the film's Los Angeles premiere. "We had like a lunch where we met each other, it was like a blind actor date, and I actually created a 20 questions game with him so that we could get to know each other quickly. I mean, they're very simple questions like favorite color, favorite animal, but it was fun. It kind of just broke the ice right away."

As for her discretion in real life, the actress joked that she cannot keep a secret very well. 

"I am an open book, heart on my sleeve. It's just who I am," she said. "Even when I try to keep something quiet or I'm not supposed to say anything, I am blurting it out. In fact, I'm the one that's giving Christmas gifts in October." 

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