Close Enough, the adult animation from Regular Show’s JG Quintel, won’t be getting a fourth season. The news was broken by Deadline, and then confirmed by Quintel himself on Twitter.
“It’s true, Close Enough is ending after 3 seasons,” he wrote. “I feel fortunate to have worked on this project with so many talented people. Thank you to everyone that helped bring it to life, and to everyone who watched!”
In a statement to Deadline, a spokesperson for HBO Max spoke of the company’s pride in the “instant fan favorite” and gratitude to Quintel and Cartoon Network Studios. The third season only recently arrived on the service, appearing in early April 2022.
Following the success of the quirky family-friendly Cartoon Network hit Regular Show, Close Enough offered something squarely aimed at adults. It shared the surreality of Quintel’s earlier hit, but also aimed to be relatable to those transitioning from 20-something couple to 30-something parents.
Being aimed at adults, it also acknowledged divorce and sex over the course of its 24 episodes, with the likes of Gabrielle Walsh, Jessica DiCicco, Jason Mantzoukas, Kimiko Glenn, Danielle Brooks, James Adomian and Quintel himself delivering the punchlines.
While the latter two seasons didn’t attract enough reviews to generate a score (something which may have ultimately contributed to its fate), the first season got glowing critic reviews with a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Though notably, the binary nature of Rotten Tomatoes verdict (fresh or rotten, with no middle ground for so-so) may have helped the show here, as some of the fresh reviews offer only lukewarm praise.
“Without loving Close Enough, I found the show close enough to effective that the eight episodes I watched went by quickly,” wrote Dan Fienberg at Hollywood Reporter. James Hanton at Starburst, meanwhile, said while the show offers “a sound number of full belly laughs” it “just barely justifies a place in the increasingly competitive animation market.”
Still, if you find yourself in the right demographic, it undoubtedly plays better.
“Its many nostalgia-based in-jokes may not be able to lure in viewers on either side of its tightly targeted demographic, but if you fit in that range, it's effective and entertaining,” concluded Leif Johnson at IGN Movies.
“Close Enough should be enjoyed for what it is; an escape from our responsibilities as adults in the modern day,” wrote Chris Sawin at Reel Rundown. “A perfectly outlandish and gloriously hysterical exploration of 30s-something adulthood.”
While neither Quintel nor HBO Max provided reasoning for the cancelation, it presumably comes down to the old problem of dwindling ratings making the cost of producing the show hard to justify.
For fans, that’s a great shame, but given the sheer number of shows that are getting canceled after just one season, we can at least be grateful that Close Enough was given a fair shot.
Next: One of our writers tried Yellowjackets, but came away disappointed. And HBO Max has cancelled Ellen DeGeneres' other show, Little Ellen
