The likely reason A.P. Bio was unfortunately canceled and season 5 didn't happen

A.P. Bio has become a surprise hit on Netflix, but sadly, there’s a good reason why we never got a fifth season for this comedy!

Debuting on NBC in early 2018, A.P. Bio was created by Mike O’Brien and based on his own school experiences. It centered around Jack Griffin (Glenn Howerton), a rather arrogant philosophy professor who had been pushing for a job at Harvard. Not only did it go to someone else, but Jack’s outrage at the snub led to attacking a Harvard board member and being fired.

Blackballed from regular colleges, Jack is forced to move back to his hometown of Toledo, Ohio and take a job teaching biology at the high school, which he considers beneath him. When he realizes his class is filled with potential honor students, Jack enlists them in his quest to take revenge on the man who took his Harvard job, Miles Leonard (who has no idea Jack hates him).

The 13-episode first season mixed Jack’s revenge plot with the goings on at the school, which included Patton Oswalt as the goofy principal. As the season went on, Jack slowly let go of some of his arrogance to care about the kids but still retained some superiority. Season 2 shifted it up as Jack let go of the revenge plan and instead tried to learn more about the people of Toledo to craft what he thought would be a bestselling novel. 

After two seasons on NBC, the show moved to Peacock and got a lot more quirky in the plotlines (like Toledo celebrating a “Katie Holmes Day”), while expanding the storylines to other characters. The fourth season finale actually gave a warm ending for Jack that should have led to a fifth season. So why didn’t it?

Why A.P. Bio was canceled

The show was officially canceled in December of 2021. O’Brien sent out a message thanking its fans for keeping the show going after its first NBC cancellation. 

"I’m sad to announce that A.P. Bio will not be renewed for a fifth season. But mostly I’m feeling grateful right now. To all the fans who watched the show and fought for it to come back after the cancellation! And to Peacock [and Universal Television] for giving us two more seasons after that! This show has been one of the best experiences of my life and that’s because of the hundreds of hilarious, hard-working, positive people that were involved."

Mike O'Brien, creator

The obvious reason appeared to be simply that the viewing numbers did not match what NBCUniversal hoped for. As noted, the show barely survived cancellation after two seasons, so getting more on Peacock was a minor miracle. The show was always more for a cult audience with its off-the-wall storytelling and a main character who, frankly, was meant to be unlikeable. That made it hard to connect with a wider audience.

There were also the economics of shows produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and some fan complaints about Season 4 being weaker compared to the previous years. The fact that Howerton had to balance it with his long-running comedy hit It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was also a major factor, as NBC might not have wanted to worked around his schedule for that show. 

While some may hope its new Netflix popularity can lead to a revival, that’d be tricky given rights issues between the networks and the long period since the cancellation. Then again, the idea of picking up with Jack, still stuck in Toledo with a new class of students, is intriguing, and Netflix is known for picking up and reviving shows from other streamers (such as Peacock's Girls5Eva). 

So sadly, A.P. Bio never got that fifth season, but at least Netflix viewers have a chance to catch this underrated comedy, and who knows, it might even spark a possible revival. 

A.P. Bio is currently streaming on Netflix.