In September 2025, Fox cancelled The Great North after five seasons. The announcement marked the end of a fan-favorite animated series that had amassed a loyal fanbase due to its heartwarming stories and unique Alaska setting.
Fox has not revealed the reason for cancelling The Great North. However, the following are some of the factors and circumstances that likely led to the TV show’s cancellation.
A crowded animation lineup
Fox’s crowded animation lineup is most likely the primary reason why the media company cancelled The Great North.
In April 2025, Fox renewed three of its animated TV shows: The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, and Family Guy.
The company then made more changes to its animated lineup in May 2025, when it renewed three more shows: Krapopolis, Universal Basic Guys, and Grimsburg. Additionally, it brought back American Dad!, a fan-favorite show that has been running for 20 seasons.
For the 2025/26 season, Fox was dealing with a crowded lineup of seven animated shows, most of them airing on Sunday nights. Therefore, it is likely that it cancelled The Great North to ease the schedule congestion.
Poor ratings
Ratings play a significant role in network executives’ decisions on whether to renew or cancel a TV show. Unfortunately, for The Great North, its ratings were not good.
According to TV Line, the show averaged 532,000 viewers in its fifth season and was Fox’s least-watched scripted program.
To make matters worse, the poor ratings were not just limited to its final season. During the 2021/22 season, the show was ranked as one of the least-watched broadcast series on TV, despite having relatively higher viewership numbers (1.337 million).
While it is unknown whether ratings were the downfall of The Great North, the poor viewership performance would not have worked in the show’s benefit, especially if Fox had to decide between renewing it and some of the other better-performing animated series.
Financial reasons and content strategy shift
Financial reasons and Fox’s content strategy shift are two other circumstances that could have led to the cancellation of The Great North.
In terms of financials, Fox is shifting resources towards shows that have a broader appeal and higher ad-revenue potential. These include unscripted reality TV shows and live sports.
For the 2025-26 season, the media company has invested heavily in unscripted shows and live sports.
The lineup for the unscripted schedule includes Name that Tune, Celebrity Weakest Link, The Floor, 99 to Beat, Hell’s Kitchen, and Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, which air on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.
On the other hand, the live sports lineup includes Fox College Football Friday, Fox Sports Saturday, and NFL on Fox (Sunday nights).
This heavy investment in unscripted shows and live sports is likely one of the reasons why The Great North was cancelled. The decision also affected other scripted TV shows, with the media company also cancelling Alert: Missing Persons Unit, The Cleaning Lady, and 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Besides financials, The Great North’s future could also have been affected by a shift in Fox’s content strategy, which appears to favor investments in long-running franchises over newer shows.
For example, in the animated series lineup, the company invested heavily in The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, and American Dad!
The strategy also appears to apply to unscripted shows, with the company seemingly favoring established franchises such as The Masked Singer, Hell’s Kitchen, Next Level Chef, and LEGO Masters.
Writing was already on the wall for The Great North
Fans may have been disappointed to hear that Fox had cancelled The Great North, but for many people, the show’s future had been in question for months.
The first signs that the show could be cancelled appeared in April 2025, when Fox announced a mega renewal deal that gave an unprecedented four-season extension to animated shows The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers.
The returning American Dad! was also renewed for four seasons. One show that was notably missing from the renewal deal was The Great North.
In May 2025, the TV show was notably missing again when Fox renewed three newer animated shows: Krapopolis, Universal Basic Guys, and Grimsburg.
So, when the announcement came that the show was being axed in September 2025, many fans had already resigned themselves to the fact that the show might be cancelled.
Reactions to Fox cancelling The Great North
There were plenty of reactions following the news that The Great North had been cancelled.
One of the first people to react was Aimee Steinberger, the show’s director, who took to social media to announce the cancellation and pay tribute to the series.
“Sadly, we got the news today that The Great North is officially cancelled. I’m pretty sad about it. It’s one of a very small number of shows I’ve worked on that I genuinely loved, and I really loved the whole talented crew I worked with. I feel lucky to have been there.”
She also praised the show’s heartwarming nature, which she revealed was different from many current TV series:
“In a world of cynical and mean shows, The Great North was not that. The family loves and supports each other. I want to work on more shows like that. Either blood or found family.”
Several fans also took to various online platforms to express disappointment over The Great North’s cancellation.
Some fans believed that Fox should not have canceled the series, as it was one of the best animated series. Other fans hoped that another network would pick up the show.
The Great North might find a new home, as other shows cancelled by Fox (like 9-1-1, King of the Hill, and Futurama) have. However, there is no indication that the series might follow a similar path.