Weird Loners Showrunner Michael J. Weithorn Teases Season Finale, Talks Future of the Show [Exclusive Interview]

After an incredibly short first season, Weird Loners may already be ending for good. Still, in only a few episodes, we’ve fallen in love with this quirky cast of characters who have all managed to become an important part of each others’ lives.

The show is smart, funny, and endearing, with a cast who works together to create fantastic on-screen chemistry. If you haven’t been watching, you’re definitely missing out.

In anticipation of the season finale, I spoke exclusively with creator and executive producer of Weird Loners, Michael J. Weithorn, about what makes the show so unique, what to expect for the finale, as well as the future of the series.

Weithorn, who has worked in comedy for a number of years (The King of Queens, Family Ties), stated that one of the things that sets this show apart from other comedies is that it is smaller, a little more real, and even a little smarter. Unfortunately, Weithorn also feels those are some the reasons the show hasn’t been able to develop a large following.

The comedy was actually originally written for a cable network. Weithorn stated, “The original script was racier in terms of the language and certain aspects of it, but it was essentially the same characters and the same dynamics. But the network that stepped up with the greatest interest was FOX, under Kevin Reilly, so certainly we were going to go where the most excitement existed.”

Unfortunately, the show hasn’t gained much interest in its short run of only six episodes for a first season. In addition to receiving mixed reviews, a change in administration meant it wasn’t promoted as it probably should have been. “A show like this could have taken not only more promotion, but a longer period of time to find a following, if it was ever going to find one on network,” Weithorn said. “But it was certainly never going to do it in six episodes with a 1.0 lead in, so we were kind of doomed from the start.”

Weithorn also believes the show started too late in the season, which meant less of an opportunity for it to develop any sort of cult following, or for a larger audience to develop with streaming or web access.

As for the critical response to the show being mixed, Weithorn feels that many members of the audience simply didn’t understand what the show was trying to do. “When reviews would say things about how, ‘Oh, it’s just another predictable dumb sitcom,’ I’d think, well you don’t have to like it. But it’s definitely not that. Whatever you may say about it, it’s not that.”

No matter what, Weithorn said he was very proud of the show. “I wouldn’t have done it differently. I really like the tone that we found and the actors that we hired did such a wonderful job in making the characters very real and relatable.”

Weithorn also spoke to the comedy’s unique tone and delivery. “I really like the fact that a lot of the jokes go by very quickly and are very kind of thrown away.” Weithorn further explained, “The shows that tend to do best are the ones that tend to jump off the screen with the jokes a little bit more aggressively. With Weird Loners, I wasn’t really thinking about that one way or the other. I was just trying to create a tone that felt right for the show and this world.”

As for whether or not Weird Loners has any sort of future, we’re still holding out a tiny piece of hope. Wiethorn stated that he has ideas for a second season and that there are possibilities of moving the show elsewhere. However, he isn’t entirely optimistic. He named Hulu as one potential option, though he acknowledged how tough that sort of thing can be.

Weithorn also stated they were planning to try for TBS. “It certainly doesn’t seem like a TBS show. But, Kevin Reilly now runs TBS, so perhaps he might have an interest in it. Although, I can’t even imagine whether it would be acceptable for TBS in its current tone.”

Regardless of whether or not Weird Loners can find a home elsewhere, Weithorn said he was glad the show would still have a chance to live on. “I’m glad, at least, that this is happening in an era where even when a show is canceled, the shows live on and always stream on Hulu for eternity.” He said that even just a few years ago if a show was canceled, “there literally might not be any way to ever see the episodes again.”

Luckily, Weithorn was willing to share some of his ideas for a second season. If you’re wondering what direction the relationship between Stosh and Caryn might have taken, Weithorn had plans for them to hook up pretty early on. However, their relationship would be unlike most sitcoms “where the ‘will they or won’t they’ couple hook up, and then they are now a couple.”

Instead, Stosh and Caryn would realize they couldn’t possibly have a traditional relationship with one another, and would instead have to establish some sort of unconventional relationship. “That seems to be like something that would have been fun that we haven’t seen before.”

Other ideas included Caryn struggling with whether or not she should try to have a baby as a single woman, giving up on the idea of conceiving naturally with a man. Weithorn also said he wanted to introduce Stosh’s father as a character, likely played by Sons of Anarchy’s Kim Coates. That story would involve Stosh’s son, Frank, as well, with Stosh realizing that he doesn’t want be the kind of father to Frank that his father was to him.

We also asked Weithorn to share what he was most excited for fans to see on the final this Tuesday night. “When we conceived that episode, I said we have to think about the fact that it may wind up being the series finale,” Weithorn explained. “So there was definitely some thought given to sending them all off — and pairing them off. But in a weird way, not in a conventional way.”

The finale will offer a bit of closure, in its way, while leaving an opportunity for more of the story to be told. “They all sort of had their small moment of connecting with another human, but each one of them was sort of warped in its way, which felt true to the spirit of the show. I guess if we have to send them off into TV oblivion with that, I’m happy with it.”

The finale of Weird Loners airs Tuesday, May 5th at 9:30/8:30c on FOX.

Ashley Bissette Sumerel

Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.