Despite low ratings, AMC has renewed Halt and Catch Fire for a third season.
The critical darling, set in the early to mid '80s about a group of intrepid tech pioneers in the early days of computing technology, will receive a third season consisting of 10 episodes to air in the summer of 2016, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“We are particularly grateful to the critics and fans who supported the show throughout the second season and have been pulling for its renewal,” said Joel Stillerman, an AMC programming executive. “In a world of TV series filled with scary, mythical creatures like zombies and dragons, we’re thrilled to be able to follow these characters to Silicon Valley and finally bring unicorns to television.”
The renewal comes as a bit of a surprise, given that season two only averaged a infinitesimal 530,000 viewers per episode, the AV Club noted.
However, despite the show’s lackluster viewership, Stillerman thinks that there could be more life for Halt beyond a conclusive third season, saying that the network will again evaluate the show’s status after season three.
“This is a show with a lot of wind left in its sails and compelling story,” Stillerman said. “We made a move to own our own content a few years back and without that, it's worth noting that at least in our world, I don't think this decision would have been possible.
“We like viewers believe that when we find something that's working, we should stick with it,” he added.
Halt and Catch Fire stars Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Toby Huss (Carnivàle), Mackenzie Davis (The Martian), as well as Argo’s Kerry Bishé and Scoot McNairy.