Cartoon Network (CN) is home to childhood favorites like Teen Titans Go!, Gumball, and Adventure Time. Older CN viewers also loved long-running shows like The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Ed, Edd n Eddy. Teen Titans Go currently takes the lead as the longest-running show for the network, with nine total seasons, going all the way back to 2013.
Steven Universe, which started in the same year, had only five seasons but was a very popular show. So, why did it end, and what will the new show look like?
Steven Universe was a futuristic kids' cartoon with a one-of-a-kind storyline. Considering all of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows have the common element of incorporating imaginative characters with seemingly unrealistic scenarios, Steven Universe fits right in that category with its creation of a parallel universe where humans and superhumans coexist. The great part about shows like this is that they still manage to relate to the child experience.
Steven, the main character, was kind of like a demigod (think Maui from Moana), because he was half-human, and what the show called half Gem. He was on a path of self-discovery in many senses of the word, because he tried to figure out the everyday problems of a young boy while also discovering how to use the powers he inherited.
Steven’s gang of friends on the show was not your typical neighborhood group. They were called the Crystal Gems and were similar to goddesses because they all had unique powers based on the type of gem they were. Saving the universe and protecting Steven were their number one goals.
Why was Steven Universe cancelled?
Although it’s difficult to pinpoint the reason for the original cancellation of Steven Universe, there is always the speculation that shows get dropped for low viewership, funding, or controversial criticism. The show was known for its LGBTQ representation, which sparked some debate across the country. However, it also isn’t that unusual for Cartoon Network shows to face non-renewal—most shows only get four to five seasons before the network entertains new concepts from other writers.
According to Polygon, the creator and Executive Producer of Steven Universe, Rebecca Sugar, admitted that the show ended abruptly because she wasn’t given the amount of time needed to wrap up the storyline as she had originally planned. After fighting for more episodes in the final season, Sugar still felt that she “wasn’t ready for the show to end.”
What worked in Sugar's favor is that she created the show to be symbolically fluid. Polygon quotes Sugar saying, “I always wanted this world and these characters to feel sublime… to exist outside the frame of what you see.” In her mind, there would always be stories happening, “before and after the episodes”. Her vision thankfully came to fruition.
When the show ended, fans clearly wanted more of Steven and his Earth guardian friends, leading to the creation of Steven Universe: The Movie in 2019, and a continuation of the series called Steven Universe Future, which was released in the same year. Although the show only lasted a year, Sugar felt like the story closed out how she wanted this time around.
What will the sequel of Steven Universe reveal?
Six years after the show's epilogue, Sugar has stunned fans by announcing a sequel to Steven Universe. Deadline explains that the new series, Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars, will explore the adventures of a teenage character, Lars Barriga, who will come across “…the darkest secrets of the fallen Gem Empire”.
We can expect the sequel to come with a TV-PG rating like the original, but perhaps with more interest to pre-teens and teenagers. Fans may want to re-watch the original series to get a grasp of how this character relates to Steven and how the fallen empire came to be.
There seems to be a trend with kids' networks bringing back cancelled shows, whether through re-introducing airtime, streaming new seasons, or creating movies. Steven Universe fans are here for it, and will be able to watch the sequel on Prime Video, but a streaming date has not yet been announced.