Peacock cancels spy series Ponies after one season

Peacock has canceled its original series "Ponies" after one season, the streaming service confirmed on Tuesday. The Cold War spy thriller, starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson, premiered on January 15, 2026, with all eight episodes released at once.

The series was set in 1977 Moscow and followed two American embassy secretaries, Bea and Twila. After their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, the pair become CIA operatives to uncover a conspiracy. The title "Ponies" is an acronym for "Persons Of No Interest," referring to their initially overlooked status.

Despite critical acclaim, including a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the show failed to gain a large enough audience to justify a renewal. Peacock does not regularly release viewership data, but "Ponies" did not appear in Nielsen's weekly top 10 streaming charts following its release.

The series was co-created by David Iserson and Susanna Fogel, who also served as executive producers alongside co-showrunner Mike Daniels and star Emilia Clarke. The cancellation leaves several major cliffhangers unresolved from the first season's finale, including a confrontation with the KGB and the...