'Star Wars' series 'The Acolyte' canceled after one season
Disney+ series The Acolyte has been canceled been canceled after one season.
Several entertainment outlets, including Variety and Deadline, reported that Lucasfilm has opted to discontinue the Star Wars prequel show more than a month after the first season premiered on Disney+.
News of the cancelation wasn't too much of a surprise as the series had mixed reviews, with some fans even review-bombing it on Rotten Tomatoes. Reports said that some users had qualms with the series featuring actors of color and LGBTQ+ themes. Star Amandla Stenberg fired back at racist comments by posting a song on Instagram.
Critics were generally okay with the series, giving it a 78% on the TV/film review site while average audiences gave it a low score of 18%.
The Acolyte had a strong premiere with 448 million minutes of viewing for the first two episodes based on Nielsen's viewership data, but this declined to 335 million minutes for the season finale.
Other Star Wars spinoffs earned more viewership during its premiere: Andor got 624 million minutes, Ahsoka raked in 829 million minutes, and The Mandalorian season 3 bagged 823 million minutes.
The Acolyte, created by Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), takes place about 100 years before the Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and follows twins Osha, a former Padawan, and Mae (both played by Amandla Stenberg) who were separated when they were kids and made to believe the other was dead. Osha reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes which lead them to confront sinister forces.
The series also stars Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Filipino-Canadian actor Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Jodie Turner-Smith, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Charlie Barnett, and Joonas Suotamo.
