If Suits is any precedent, Hightown fans who are still dreaming of a fourth season may now have a chance, as the series joined Netflix on July 23, 2025. All three seasons and 25 episodes of the underrated Starz original crime series are available to stream this summer. And with enough viewers tuning in, it’s feasible that the show will find a second life and return in some capacity.
Hightown is a character-driven crime series centered on Jackie Quiñones (Monica Raymund), a Federal Agent battling inner demons caused by drug and alcohol addiction. When she stumbles on a corpse, Jackie untangles a criminal conspiracy tying the opioid crisis with organized crime in Cape Cod. For diehard fans still hoping for more Hightown, binge-watching the show on Netflix this summer is their best shot.
Hightown
- Release Date
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2020 – 2023
- Network
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Starz
- Showrunner
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Rebecca Cutter
‘Hightown’s Underrated Premise
Rebecca Cutter created Hightown, a Starz original crime series that premiered in June 2020. Blending plot and character, the story follows Jackie Quiñones (Raymund), a deeply troubled agent who works in Cape Cod and Provincetown, Massachusetts, for the National Marine Fisheries Service. Upon finding the body of a murdered woman, Jackie is sucked into a mysterious investigation led by Detectives Ray Abruzzo (James Badge Dale) and Alan Saintille (Dohn Norwood) that ties into her drug addiction.
As Jackie strives to lead her best sober life, the murder investigation becomes linked to the opioid epidemic and the mobsters operating in Cape Cod. Because Jackie is flawed, human, and multidimensional, viewers care about her sobriety and want to see her escape the investigation safely. However, she consorts with seedy and sordid drug dealers and violent criminals, endangering her life at every turn.
Despite the formulaic police procedural tropes, Hightown soars thanks to the committed performance by Raymund, whom critics have singled out as the show’s strong suit. Sadly, after the acclaimed first season earned an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, Seasons 2 and 3 were largely overlooked.
Why Was ‘Hightown’ Canceled?
We Need ‘Hightown’ Season 4
Like most TV show cancellations, Hightown came to a premature end for several reasons. Between a sharp decline in viewership from Season 1 to Season 2, a lapse in licensing rights, and Starz’s priority to focus on other projects, the decision was made to end Hightown after three seasons and 25 episodes.
One of the glaring reasons why Hightown lost viewers in Season 2 might relate to the episode count. The first season of Hightown consisted of eight episodes, averaging roughly 235,000 viewers per episode (via Showbuzz Daily). Season 2 expanded to 10 episodes, with presumable filler failing to resonate among fans of Season 1. Once Season 2 averaged roughly 205,000 viewers per episode (via Showbuzz Daily), Starz wisely cut Season 3 down to seven episodes.

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The real shame about Hightown‘s cancellation is how the show improved by Season 3. By reducing the episode count to seven and crafting a more focused story, Hightown Season 3 earned the highest IMDb scores in the show’s history. Season 1 averaged a 7.5 IMDb score per episode. Season 2 averaged a 7.7 IMDb score per episode. Season 3 averaged an 8.1 IMDb score per episode, indicating the show’s increased appeal over time.
With Hightown‘s clear improvement from Season 1 to Season 3, it stands to reason that the trend will continue in Season 4. Now that the overlooked crime series is getting a new lease on life via Netflix, established fans and curious newbies need to rally the troops and binge-watch the series to pressure Netflix or another streamer to gift viewers more Hightown in the future. After all, a similar precedent was set with Suits and Suits: L.A., and an online petition to bring Hightown back has already been ramping up.
In March 2024, an online petition was started to keep Hightown on the air, citing:
“Recently, Starz has recently decided to remove the highly popular series, HighTown, from all streaming platforms. This dramatic decision comes barely two months after the airing of the show’s third season, leaving many loyal viewers unable to finish the gripping storyline.”
As of this writing, the petition has 596 signatures. While that’s hardly enough to move the needle, there is a precedent for this kind of situation. Following the upsetting cancellation of the popular legal drama Suits, the show was added to Netflix in 2023, where it found a new audience and enjoyed massive success among viewers.
Suits became so popular on Netflix that it directly led to the spinoff, Suits: LA, shifting the action from New York to Los Angeles. However, rather than keeping the spinoff on Netflix, the series aired on NBC. This was a network miscalculation, leading to Suits: L.A. being canceled after one season and 13 episodes. Even so, the point is that Netflix viewership helped popularize the show among a new fanbase enough to merit a spinoff.

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With so many streaming services dropping new shows every week, it’s a bloodbath out there. Casualties are bound to pile up.
As such, there’s no reason why something similar couldn’t happen to Hightown. If the show finds a new swath of fans that shoots the show to the top of the most-watched charts, then there’s a legitimate chance that Hightown will live on. To do so, diehard fans and new watchers alike must binge all 25 episodes. The more support Hightown has on Netflix, the higher the chance that the streamer (or a rival) will accommodate fan demand and resurrect the series.
If Hightown does find enough support to warrant Season 4 or a potential spinoff, Netflix should learn from the Suits situation and retain the series on its platform. Better yet, to avoid the Season 2 viewership decline, any future season should be limited to seven or eight episodes. This would prevent audience fatigue, ward off filler episodes, and keep the show as focused and entertaining as possible. Season 3 already took this approach and earned the best ratings in the show’s history. Hightown is available to stream now on Netflix.
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