HBO explains Lovecraft Country cancellation
Casey Bloys, head of content for HBO and HBO Max, explains the cancellation of Lovecraft Country after just one season, citing “a confluence of factors”.
HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys provided an explanation for Lovecraft Country‘s surprising cancellation after just one season.
“When you make the decision not to go ahead with a show, it’s usually a confluence of factors,” Bloys said. Variety. “And it was here. It must be something that we think makes sense to us. In this case, we couldn’t make it …”
Season 1 of Lovecraft Country adapted from Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel of the same name and centers on Atticus Freeman, a pulp fiction-loving Korean War veteran who travels with his friend Letitia and his uncle George to find his missing father Montrose in the 1950s, the bringing them face to face with the terrors not only of American white supremacy, but of an occult society seeking to tap into deadly cosmological forces. Misha Green developed the show, which premiered on August 16, 2020, into ten episodes.
While Season 1 covered all of Ruff’s source material, Green had crafted a 75-page Story Bible for Lovecraft Country Season 2, titled Lovecraft Country: Supremacy. However, despite Season 1’s good ratings and viewership numbers, HBO officially declined to continue the show in July. “I don’t think it would be fair to point the finger at one thing in particular,” Bloys continued. “I don’t think the work that Misha did, and the recognition he got, doesn’t change that.”
Notice for Lovecraft Country were generally positive at first but became more and more mixed as Season 1 continued. This culminated in the Season 1 finale with a score of 68% on Rotten tomatoes, with critical consensus describing it as “a haphazard conclusion that suffers from the show’s messy line of conduct, but at least brings closure to the characters and a healthy dose of spectacle.” Lovecraft Country has also drawn criticism for his handling of LGBTQ + topics and the way he incorporated actual historical atrocities into his storyline.
The show was also not without controversy behind the scenes. Most notably, Kelli Amirah, who played an extra in Season 1, claimed that her skin was intentionally darkened for her role in the series. HBO officially responded to its claims in March, saying, “It shouldn’t have happened, and we are taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again in the future.”
Season 1 of Lovecraft Country airs on HBO Max.
Source: Variety
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