The Upgrade TV series is back in the buzz after the showrunner addressed the question that fans have asked many times: why it never happened. The series was stunted because of many reasons, including bad positioning and timing, the unstable atmosphere of the industry, and shifting executive priorities.But the creative paths were ready and chalked out. For the uninformed, Upgrade is a Leigh Whannell 2018 techno-thriller film. It was first announced in 2019, with Whannell in the team. Tim Walsh was attached as the showrunner.Showrunner explains why the Upgrade TV show never happenedThe show was about to expand uniquely and not drag the film’s plot, which fans already knew of. Because the show was conceived as an expansion of the Upgrade universe, a new rendition was supposed to bring freshness.Walsh clarified amply that this rendition would focus on criminals implanted with the STEM chip as a form of rehabilitation. It would explore themes of free will, punishment, and control.He described it as reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange, built around four anti-heroes navigating a system that claims to reform them while effectively stripping away autonomy.Tim Walsh said,"We had the writer’s room. We wrote the scripts. But, as often happens in this business, somebody up top at Peacock got fired, and a new person came in, thought they knew everything, and dropped that project."From a development standpoint, the project was unusually far along. According to Walsh, Peacock had already greenlit a writers’ room. Scripts were ready, and the creative direction was also put to a seal. This was not a vague idea stalled in early talks; it was an active production pipeline.The first hindrance came with the COVID-19 pandemic. Walsh has stated that the writers’ room for Upgrade began just on the day the wave of the pandemic struck. This was a colossal motivator for the show's halt.The pandemic disrupted production schedules across the industry, froze budgets, and forced studios and streamers to reassess risk. Projects that were not yet filming, especially those without established television brands, became easy targets for cancellation or indefinite delay.The second and most decisive reason came from the executive desk. A turnover took place at Peacock. Walsh explained that a key executive who supported the project and the person replacing that decisive mind dropped Upgrade entirely.This kind of leadership change is common in Hollywood, and thus, compounding this was a broader cultural and market shift. Saturation and momentum of stories also drive studio decisions.Walsh noted that the show’s focus on criminals, corruption, and morally ambiguous authority figures landed at a moment when such stories had become harder to sell.“The whole series was about criminals and the STEM chip being put into them to reform them"Walsh said."It was like A Clockwork Orange... but with STEM being put in.”At the time when the show was pitched, streamers were majorly preoccupied with content that centered on policing, criminal justice, and anti-heroes, particularly when paired with systemic critique. What might have felt timely in 2019 was soon considered a potent but heavy risk.Leigh Whannell later broke the news that the show was officially dead. While fans remain frustrated, Whannell has expressed comfort with the film’s cult-classic status and its lingering ambiguity.Thus, Upgrade, even though a potent show for streaming, did not make it to the finish line.