The fate of Labor of Love has finally been revealed.
The Fox dating game show, which debuted on Fox back in May 2020, is not coming back for a second season. The quiet cancellation of the series was confirmed by Fox’s head of alternative content Rob Wade during the network’s recent Television Critics Association press tour presentation.
Presented by Sex and the City star Kristin Davis, the eight-episode first season of Labor of Love followed former The Bachelor season 11 contestant Kristy Katzmann as 15 men participated in challenges and dates to test their parenting and personal skills with the ultimate objective of helping Katzman find the father of her future children.
In the finale, which aired in July 2020, Katzmann chose sales and marketing executive Kyle Klinger as the winner. Other contestants who competed for Katzmann’s love included former WWE superstar Matt Kay, aka Matt Striker, and Survivor season 17 alum Marcus Lehman.
Fox didn’t provide an explanation for the Labor of Love’s cancellation. But the network’s decision to ultimately pull the plug on the series was likely influenced by the backlash that the show received during its run. Though some dating game fans enjoyed watching Labor of Love, a lot of critics and viewers panned the series for turning the decision to conceive and parent a child into a competition for entertainment.
Although Katzmann and Klinger became a couple after the show’s finale, the two broke up a few months later. “We didn’t actually have that much time to spend together on the show, and I think as we got on the other side of the show, unfortunately, it just kind of became clear that we just weren’t compatible,” Katzmann told People of how she and Klinger came to the decision to go their separate ways.
Davis, who is currently filming the Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That… for HBO Max, has yet to comment on Labor of Love’s cancellation.