Jake Johnson Shares His Regrets About ‘Minx’ Being Canceled For A Second Time: “We Didn’t Get to Finish What We Were Building”

Pack it up, baby: On Friday, January 5, Minx fans received the sad news that the show had been officially canceled—again, this time by Starz—and will not be getting a Season 3.

First reported by Deadline, the news was not a shock to star Jake Johnson, who had previously told the trade publication the chances of Season 3 weren’t looking good. In a Zoom interview with Decider on Monday, Johnson—who was promoting his upcoming Hulu film, Self Reliance—expressed his disappointment at the network’s decision.

“I really loved working with Ellen [Rapoport, Minx creator and showrunner] and the cast and crew,” Johnson said. “I thought it was a really special group of people, and I feel like we didn’t get to finish what we were all building.”

The comedy first premiered on HBO Max in 2022, with Johnson starring as a sleazy 1970s pornography producer. After HBO Max abruptly canceled the show while it was in the midst of production for the second season, Starz swooped in to save the day. Season 2 aired on Starz last summer, and though critics liked it, apparently, not enough viewers tuned in to convince the network to green-light a third season—much to Johnson’s dismay.

“I feel like Season 2 of the show is you’re finding the footing, and in Season 3 you get to go to another level,” Johnson told Decider. “I really loved playing Doug Renetti. He was a truly special character. We were just starting to get at how weird, how crazy, these type of characters are.” Johnson went on to say he wasn’t surprised by the news, however. “It’s part of the game these days. I don’t think the game is about one or two projects now, I think it’s about 10 to 20. Sad, but you move on and try to find another one.”

That said, though the news was sad, Johnson wanted to leave Minx fans with one last funny anecdote about his time at the show. While he was working on the show, the actor got to talking to his pool guy, who was, in Johnson’s words, “a total hunk. The kind of guy who would take his shirt off while cleaning the pool, and my wife and I would be like, ‘We’re living a porno movie!'”

Said hunk mentioned to Johnson that he was an actor, and would love to get a role on Minx. Johnson—good guy that he is—brought that idea to Minx showrunner Ellen Rapoport. “She saw a photo, and said, ‘He’s very handsome. Would he be willing to show his dick?'”

Johnson said the awkward experience of asking his pool guy how he feels about on-screen nudity is one part of Minx he won’t miss. “I realize now that Minx is over, something that had become normal to me is now over—which is me saying, ‘Hey man, I talked to the showrunner, she’s interested. Are you willing to… uh… show your penis on camera?’ [Laughs.] We were like by my pool heater! He was like, ‘I don’t really feel comfortable.’ I felt like a ’70s pervy producer being like, ‘I don’t know what to tell ya, baby, you want the stardom, you gotta drop the pants!'”

It was, Johnson joked, the silver lining he needed to the otherwise sad news. “When it got canceled, I thought, ‘That will never happen again. I’ll never have to ask a guy, if you want to act in a show I’m in, will you be willing to take your underpants off? So there is an upside to it being canceled.”