This Short-Lived 6-Episode Sci-Fi Was Removed From Streaming By Its Own Network

1 week ago 9

John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen, and Tim Heidecker in Moonbase 8

Published May 21, 2026, 9:36 PM EDT

Nate Williams is a longtime tech and entertainment writer based in the Midwest. He covers movies and TV for Collider. Since 2016, his work has appeared on such sites as MakeUseOf, SlashGear, and ComingSoon.net, among others. When not actively working, you'll likely find him seeing a new movie or reading an old book. (Or vice versa.)

As streaming services continue merging and purging, it’s never that much of a surprise to see a show disappear from one and pop up on another. But, for some less popular shows, another fate awaits them: getting removed from streaming by their own network, never to resurface on a subscription service again. One recent example? Moonbase 8. Premiering on Showtime in 2020, the six-episode sci-fi comedy brought together three of alt-comedy’s most recognizable faces: Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker, and John C. Reilly. Together, they played a trio of pitiful astronauts training in the Arizona desert for a possible — okay, unlikely — mission to a lunar colony.

Created by Armisen, Heidecker, and Reilly alongside their frequent collaborator Jonathan Krisel, Moonrise 8 was everything you’d expect from these legends. It was dry, it was clever, it was weirdly existential… basically, exactly the kind of niche comedy that could have developed a cult following over time. Unfortunately, it never even got the chance to let its audience discover it. Less than three years after its November 2020 debut, Showtime removed the series from its streaming library and made it exclusively available to buy on Amazon. It’s a shame, because who’s going to buy a show they’ve never seen before? In today’s streaming era, it’s akin to putting the show out to pasture.

‘Moonbase 8’ Had One of the Weirdest Comedy Ensembles of the 2020s

Moonbase 8's biggest draw was and still is its central trio. Reilly plays Cap, a former helicopter tour pilot desperately clinging to authority and dignity. Heidecker’s Rook is a deeply awkward (and extremely religious) academic who hopes to spread Christianity across the galaxy. Meanwhile, Armisen’s Skip is an anxious doctor permanently overshadowed by his astronaut father’s legacy. Altogether, there’s no wonder why this trio’s been sent out to work in the Arizona desert. The supporting cast is also quite funny: Travis Kelce appears as himself years before officially diving headfirst into acting, former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert shows up at one point, and familiar faces like Alia Shawkat and Thomas Mann also pop up throughout the six-episode run.

Watching Moonbase 8, it feels like there’s never been a show like it. Alas, it did come at a strange time for space-based workplace comedies. Though they all stand alone, there’s no denying it, and other shows like Space Force and Avenue 5 all look like the same thing. Considering the way all three of these shows premiered in 2020 and have since been canceled, there’s something to be said about possible audience confusion leading to their shared demise. Still, no matter how similar it looks on the surface, what makes Moonbase 8 stand out from the crowd is how committed it is to its alt-comedy roots. The pacing is slow (especially for a half-hour sitcom), silences stretch long enough to make you uncomfortable… Fans of Heidecker's genius On Cinema universe, as well as Armisen and Reilly’s style, know what they’re in for, but it can probably feel a little alienating for viewers coming in blind.

Showtime Quietly Erased ‘Moonbase 8’ From Its Streaming Library

Despite pretty decent reviews and clear cult potential, Moonbase 8 never became a breakout hit for Showtime. The series earned mixed (but mostly positive) notices from critics, many of whom were surely well aware the comedy’s intentionally off-beat rhythm wasn’t going to work for everyone. But the show simply disappeared before it had time to find a larger audience. Eagle-eyed viewers saw Showtime remove Moonbase 8 from its streaming platform in January 2023. The decision came right around the company’s transition into “Paramount+ With Showtime,” which saw even more underperforming series wiped from the service as studios searched for tax write-downs and licensing opportunities. (And, for the record, it doesn't even exist anymore — It's “Paramount+ Premium” now.)

Other surprising casualties included shows like Kidding with Jim Carrey and the Kirsten Dunst-led On Becoming a God in Central Florida, both of which had more seasons — and, by that logic, more viewers — than Moonbase 8. Three years later, these axed Showtime series still haven’t found a new streaming home. It’s a frustrating fate for a comedy this unique. In just six episodes, Moonbase 8 carved out a strange little corner of sci-fi television entirely its own. And even at a time when streaming services constantly need new hits to avoid churn, Moonbase 8 feels like the kind of oddball cult comedy that could’ve found its audience in due time. Instead, it became another casualty of the streaming era’s increasingly ruthless (if not outright cannibalistic) approach to its own content.