HBO cancels ‘Lovecraft Country’ after one season
Lovecraft Country is coming to an end at HBO. The network has decided against moving forward with a continuation of the horror drama series, as reported by Deadline.
"We will not be moving forward with a second season of Lovecraft Country,” HBO said in a statement. “We are grateful for the dedication and artistry of the gifted cast and crew, and to Misha Green, who crafted this groundbreaking series. And to the fans, thank you for joining us on this journey."
The 10-episode first season, which debuted in August 2020, follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he meets up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). The journey of the African-American man across the segregated 1950s United States, uncovers the dark secrets plaguing a town on which famous horror writer H.P. Lovecraft supposedly based the location of many of his fictional tales.
The news of the cancellation comes despite the series' strong word of mouth and high viewership. The series was produced by Monkeypaw Productions, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television Studios.
As reported by Deadline, the season finale achieved a series high audience of 1.5 million viewers, becoming the most watched new episode of an original series on HBO Max in its first day on the streaming service. By the time the season had aired its finale, the Lovecraft Country premiere episode had managed to draw over 10 million viewers.
However, the decision against a second season is not completely surprising, as the series was adapted from the solo novel of the same name by Matt Ruff.
In October, showrunner Misha Green stated that she was in talks with the network about another season. According to Green, the second season, Lovecraft Country: Supremacy, would "[carry] on the spirit of Matt Ruff’s novel by continuing to reclaim the genre storytelling space that people of color have typically been left out of."
Following the news, Green took to social media to share the possible plotline for the next season.
A taste of the Season 2 Bible. Wish we could have brought you #LovecraftCountry: Supremacy. Thank you to everyone who watched and engaged. ?✊? #noconfederate pic.twitter.com/BONbSfbjWg
— Misha Green (@MishaGreen) July 3, 2021
(Images via HBO)