Peacock has pulled the plug on Emilia Clarke’s spy thriller Ponies after just one season

written by Craig Ellison

June 24, 2026 3:12 pm

Peacock has pulled the plug on Emilia Clarke’s spy thriller Ponies after just one season. The January debut drew glowing reviews, but the streamer isn’t bringing it back, per Variety.

If you blinked, you might've missed one of Peacock's most critically adored dramas this year, because it's already been axed. Yes, despite collecting golden reviews and the sort of Rotten Tomatoes scores that streaming execs normally plaster across every advert, Peacock's spy series 'Ponies' is dead in the water after just a single season.

What Actually Happened?

So, in case you're not glued to US streaming news: 'Ponies' only landed on Peacock this January. Not some years-old flop—they've canned it months after launch. Official word from Variety confirms it's a one-and-done situation, with no proper explanation offered up as to why. Which is increasingly the way, sadly.

Critical Darling, Commercial Shrug

Here's where it gets weird (or, let's be honest, just slightly depressing for anyone who likes ambition in their telly): 'Ponies' didn't just quietly exist. No, it kicked off with rave reviews, sitting on a whopping 94% Tomatometer (critics) and a solid 83% from regular viewers over on Rotten Tomatoes.

But apparently, glowing write-ups weren't enough to crack Nielsen's streaming top ten, so clearly the actual audience wasn't keeping pace with the critical hype. Tough crowd, or maybe just the wrong show for this moment—hard to say with these mysterious viewing figures.

So, What Is 'Ponies' Anyway?

Let's break down what you might've missed:

Premise: 'Ponies' drops us in Moscow, 1977. Two women—'PONIES', which in Cold War spy jargon means 'persons of no interest'—work as secretaries at the US Embassy. All very dull and bureaucratic, until both their husbands wind up dead in some highly suspect circumstances, with the USSR as the backdrop. Cue these 'nobodies' suddenly getting drafted as CIA operatives.
Main Cast: Emilia Clarke (yes, Daenerys herself), Haley Lu Richardson, Nicholas Podany, Andrew Richardson, Adrian Lester, and Artjom Gilz, amongst others.
Creative Team: Susanna Fogel penned the series, with David Iserson as showrunner.
Streaming Home: You can still catch it on Peacock, for now.

There Was a Plan for Season Two

Just to twist the knife for any new fans: the team clearly thought they'd get another shot. Susanna Fogel had already mapped out where the main characters would head next, saying after the premiere:

'They’re different people at the end of the season than they were at the beginning, and in Season 2, they’re just going to have to re-ask themselves these questions about what personally is in it for them and what are the stakes for them, and I think that becomes exciting.'

Unfortunately, none of that is happening, unless someone else snaps up the show—don't hold your breath, but you never know in streaming land.