The cancellation of the popular and acclaimed SundanceTV series Hap and Leonard has not sat well with fans.

Jonita Davis for BLACK GIRL NERDS argues that the show was cancelled because tv execs were not comfortable with the show’s uncomfortable content.

There hasn’t been a show in a long tine that embodied so many important tropes depicted in such natural forms. Thee now-cancelled AMC  SundanceTV show “Hap and Leonard” took on several problem areas in modern society with an unapologetic yet humorous manner.  From the toxic white feminine complacency to the conservative black gay man and the black woman driven to her death by racism and misogyny, the show never shed away from a subject.

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There won’t be another show like “Hap and Leonard”, In fact, the next shows lined up bu SundanceTV center whiteness once again with three white women in the lead and no POC to be found so far. Fortunately, we will have Lansdale’s extensive collection of books about our characters on display and ready to read.

The whole fiasco shows us that, until the tv execs get comfortable airing uncomfortable content, we will never be able to keep a great show like “Hap and Leonard”.

Fans have started the petition: Netflix or Amazon should pick up future seasons of Hap and Leonard!

The Sundance Channel cancelled a much-beloved show with many loyal viewers (that they did little to promote) and after 3 great seasons, there’s are many more Hap and Leonard books ready to be adapted.

One of the prime streaming channels like Netflix or Amazon should and allow the current fans and future fans to find this wonderful series!

For 1428 ELM, Susan Leighton shares a lengthy 2 part interview with Joe R. Lansdale.

From Part 1:

1428 Elm: Let’s talk Bubba Ho-Tep. Knowing that Elvis spent time in Gladewater, were you a fan? What was the genesis for the short story that became one of the most beloved cult classics of all time?

JL: First of all, the genesis for it would be that I grew up with Elvis. Of course, my brother had that loose connection with him. It was almost like he was a distant cousin in a strange way.

In many ways because of him, I discovered all of these different types of music. Without Elvis, a lot of white kids would never have known about black music, country music and folk music because they were all connected to what he did.

That meant a lot to me. So, when I was asked to write an Elvis story, I had this title in my head. Bubba Ho-Tep which I thought would be a funny thing for a mummy story.

Photo by Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

Part 2:

428 Elm: Sorry to hear about the cancellation of this terrific show. What are your takeaways from your time with Sundance and being one of the producers?

JL: James Purefoy and I were talking via email and neither one of us are sad. We had three great seasons. If we would have been able to continue we would have been more enthusiastic to do so. We’re both very content.

Fans were even disappointed and angry. I don’t think there is anything to be angry about. My takeaway is that Sundance treated me very well.

We were hoping it would move somewhere else but it didn’t. It was a wonderful experience. I met some great people.

I am working on the Bottoms which my friend Bill Paxton was supposed to direct. He was such a great guy with such a great vision of the film and his direction would have been awesome.

We have other plans, I’m not going to say what because that’s confidential. I am excited about it. I will be a producer on it. Although I am not the absolute producer on it, I hope to be more involved with it.

I am trying to be a more active producer on other projects of mine or a more absolute producer. So, we’ll see what happens.

Michael Patrick Hicks at HIGH FEVER BOOKS praises the forthcoming collection Terror Is Our Business: Dana Roberts’ Casebook of Horrors
by Joe R Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale.

Terror is Our Business collects the Dana Roberts stories, previously published elsewhere, into a single volume, along with a new story, “The Case of the Ragman’s Anguish,” that is exclusive to this story. The book is split pretty evenly, with the first half devoted to stories written solely by Joe R. Lansdale, with the back-half featuring stories co-written by Joe and his daughter, Kasey Lansdale.

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Following Kasey’s introduction to this collection, we are introduced to a woman named Jana, initially in a stand-alone story focused solely on her encounter with the paranormal, before joining Dana’s investigations for the final two casebooks. Jana is a bit more my style – she’s fun, witty, has a bit of mouth on her, says things without thinking, and is pretty much always in way over her head. Dana, on the other hand, is very reserved and proper, an upper-class sort of personality. Jana is her Watson to Dana’s Holmes, and becomes our window into the world of the supernormal for the collection’s back-half. Once Kasey and Jana hit the pages, the stories become livelier and Dana finally has a counterpoint, a polar opposite, to act against. The burgeoning friendship between these personalities present an entertaining foil. The last two stories present supernormal threats that are also unabashedly Lovecraftian, which hit a particular sweet spot for me. While Jana presents an airier narrative voice than the stuffier gentleman author transcribing a moneyed ghost hunter’s adventures, the introduction of cosmic threats really tickled me, even if the stories still follow the by-now well-established Dana Roberts’ Casebook story formula. 

All in all, Terror is Our Business: Dana Roberts’ Casebook of Horrors is a largely delightful introduction to this investigator, but it took a while for me to connect with the work as a whole. It’s not really until the last couple stories that everything began to click for me, and it’s clear that Kasey Lansdale’s influence was key to the development of Dana Roberts and helped give the series a fresher perspective. I do hope to see more of Dana and Jana, as well as Joe and Kasey as collaborators, in the future though. 

For more info about HAP AND LEONARD: BLOOD AND LEMONADE, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Elizabeth Story

For more info on HAP AND LEONARD, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Elizabeth Story

For more info on THE BIG BOOK OF HAP AND LEONARD, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

For more info about THE BEST OF JOE R. LANSDALE, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by John Picacio