Why won't there be The Recruit season 3?

The Recruit season 2 sent the chaotic and under-qualified field agent to South Korea, where he was reunited with a figure from his childhood, when his military serviceman father had been based in the country.

While not an outright cliffhanger on the scale of season 1, the second chapter certainly left a number of plot threads open to further exploration, with showrunner Alexi Hawley expressing interest in sending Owen to another continent.

Alas, that's not to be – here's our top four theories on why The Recruit was cancelled.

Why won't there be The Recruit season 3 on Netflix?

Netflix has cancelled The Recruit after two seasons, the streamer announced in March 2025.

The news came as a shock to fans after the show's promising performance on viewership charts, racking up more than 12 million views in its first two weeks of availability, while Nielsen reported over a billion minutes streamed after its debut.

It's possible that the show has been unfavourably compared to The Night Agent, which has a similar premise (but a more dramatic execution) and released its own second season at around the same time.

According to Nielsen, The Night Agent was three times as popular as The Recruit in its debut week this past January, with the streamer perhaps feeling that there just isn't enough room for both shows on the platform.

Another potential factor known to impact Netflix's commissioning decisions is the completion rate of a given series, with shows that viewers fail to finish often getting axed – even if they manage a strong opening week.

Lastly, The Recruit suffered a long delay between its first and second seasons due to strike action by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which may have inflated costs and sapped the show of its early momentum.

Of course, this is all speculation on our part as no official reason for the cancellation has been given, but they are all plausible reasons for why the streamer may have pulled the plug.

What has The Recruit creator said about the show's cancellation?

The Recruit creator Alexi Hawley paid tribute to the show and its journey to screens on social media in the wake of the cancellation being confirmed.

In his so-called "love letter", Hawley hailed his "movie star" lead actor Noah Centineo, and remembered the "rocky" production of season 1 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"At one point, we were shooting scenes from six different episodes at the same time to try and catch up. On paper, it should've been a disaster. But when we got to the editing room, there was magic in the footage," he wrote.

Hawley added: "Is two seasons and a movie a thing? Cause we'd all be there in a heartbeat. If not, man, we left it all on the field. For those who haven't yet watched, dive in. I swear to God you'll enjoy the ride.

"In an age of shows that feel like homework, The Recruit is a blast that has stakes and humour and hardcore action which will keep you leaning forward."

Previously, Hawley had been open (in an interview with Deadline) about his hopes for a third season of The Recruit, adding that "we're waiting for Netflix to officially do their thing with it".

He continued: "There's a lot of goodwill inside Netflix towards the show and towards Noah [Centineo]; I think they very much feel like Noah is a homegrown star, which he is [having started out on the streamer's teen romcoms].

"I'm feeling super positive about it, as positive as you can feel in this town at this time."

Who starred in The Recruit season 2?

Warning: Season 2 spoilers follow in this section.

The Recruit starred Noah Centineo as freshly qualified CIA lawyer turned messy field operative Owen Hendricks.

Other key players in The Recruit's first two seasons included Aarti Mann, Colton Dunn, Fivel Stewart, Kristian Bruun and Vondie Curtis-Hall (above). The second instalment also welcomed Past Lives breakout star Teo Yoo to The Recruit family.

The Recruit season 2 ended with another shock murder by Nichka (played by Maddie Hasson), who killed her own mother (Laura Haddock's Max Meladze) in season 1 and took out corrupt CIA agent Dawn Gilbane (Angel Parker) this time around.

Hawley said that "Dawn's story is ultimately a tragic one" as she had to spend her final days scrambling to "try and clean up her tracks and get back into the CIA's good graces", but found that the forces stacked against her were too strong to overcome.

Her killer, however, remains at large, with the showrunner expressing his hope that they would "see Nichka again", teasing that "having wild cards out there is super fun because you never know [whether they'll return]".

Here's an overview of the main cast and characters in The Recruit season 2:

• Noah Centineo as Owen Hendricks
• Aarti Mann as Violet
• Colton Dunn as Lester
• Fivel Stewart as Hannah
• Daniel Quincy Annoh as Terence
• Kristian Bruun as Janus Ferber
• Vondie Curtis-Hall as Walter Nyland
• Teo Yoo as Jang Kyun
• Maddie Hasson as Nichka
• Kim Young-ah as Grace

The Recruit seasons 1-2 are available to stream on Netflix.

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