“The Other Two” ending after 3 seasons amid allegations of toxic behind-the-scenes environment

Sad news! The Other Two won’t be returning for a fourth season, and it sounds like there was some serious drama behind the scenes of the very queer Max comedy.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, series creators and showrunners Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider were the subjects of multiple human resources complaints from staffers who worked on the series. Sources told the entertainment industry trade that the complaints included allegations that Kelly verbally abused writers and overworked crew members.

Related:

“The Other Two” is skipping right over the pandemic to get to Season 3

The show’s cast and creators shared details about what fans can expect along with some first-look photos.

The complaints reportedly led to a formal investigation, during which both Kelly and Schneider were banned from the show’s set. They were both reportedly cleared of wrongdoing. Sources told THR that the decision to end the series with this week’s Season 3 finale was unrelated to the allegations.

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While the complaints alleged that Schneider enabled his behavior, sources said that Kelly was the problem.

“As a team, they’ve been very destructive, but Chris is also mean to Sarah,” one said.

“Sarah is in a toxic professional relationship with him,” another claimed.

Another source suggested that the show’s toxic environment had to do with Schneider and Kelly’s “frustration” at not being on camera themselves. “These are two people who started off as improvisers. This is a show about people who are hungering for fame. Their friends and colleagues became well-known.… It’s a lot like the show,” they told THR.

“Other writers tell stories about The Other Two writers rooms like other people tell ghost stories,” another insider claimed.

As THR notes, Tina Fey seemingly hinted at the show’s behind-the-scenes troubles at the PEN America Literary Awards in March. Before creating The Other Two, Kelly and Schneider were co-head writers on Saturday Night Live. Fey, herself a former head writer on the long-running sketch comedy show, joked about how indulgent SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels is with his writers.

“Lorne, you have unleashed an army of monsters into the world,” Fey said. “You know it, I know it, and the crew of The Other Two knows it — oh, I was supposed to change that. I was supposed to change that. That’s inappropriate. Oh well, it’s not livestreaming.”

Neither Kelly nor Schneider have commented on the allegations, but they did release a joint statement about their show’s conclusion. “It is bittersweet to say goodbye to the Dubek family after three seasons, but we always knew, both creatively and personally, that this was where we wanted to end their stories,” the pair said. “And because we are quite literally out of ways to humiliate Drew Tarver, so what’s the point? We are deeply grateful to everyone (gays) who watched the show, to Max for giving us a second home and life, and to our writers, producers and crew, who gave so much of their time, talent, and passion to this show over the last 45ish years.”

They went on to thank the show’s cast, which included Traver, Heléne Yorke, Molly Shannon, Wanda Sykes, and Ken Marino.

As Kelly and Schneider note in their statement, The Other Two became something of a cult hit, particularly with LGBTQ+ audiences. The series premiered on Comedy Central in 2019, but moved to HBO Max for its second season in 2021, garnering more critical acclaim with each season. The third and now final season premiered in May on Warner Bros. Discovery’s new platform Max.  

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