Misha Green’s Lovecraft Country, one of the most lauded and creative new shows of 2020, won’t be receiving a second season.
Lovecraft Country is canceled
HBO said in a statement “We will not be moving forward with the second season of Lovecraft Country. 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 uplifting Lovecraft Country swept pop culture by storm in August and advanced the social discourse sparked by the passing of George Floyd thanks to its distinctive fusion of horror, fictitious period drama, actual historical personalities, fantasy, sci-fi, and social criticism.
The Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors series, which benefited from positive word-of-mouth, increased its fan base. The Season 1 finale attracted a series-high audience on HBO (1.5 million viewers), and it was the most-watched new episode of an original series on HBO Max on its first day of availability. The first episode had surpassed 10 million views by the time the finale was published in October.
Why did Lovecraft Country get canceled?
However, despite Lovecraft Country’s successful debut season, which was conceived, executive produced, and directed by Green and made by J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, a renewal was not a given.
This is because Season 1 was based on Matt Ruff’s novel, which served as the series’ route map. HBO sought a prospective second season of Lovecraft Country, much like it has done with other shows, most notably Big Little Lies, which produced an original second season following the first season based on Liane Moriarty’s novel.
Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer of HBO and HBO Max said in February that “Misha is working with a small team of writers and they’re coming up with a take. She had a book to go on in the first season. She and the writers wanted to go off and take some time to go out and figure out without a book with these characters, what’s the journey we want to go on. We all want to be sure she’s got a story to tell. That’s where she is right now, working on those ideas. I’m very hopeful, as is Misha, so we’re giving them the time to work.”
In the end, it was decided not to move on with a second season after serious deliberation.
Green provided a plan at the time of the Lovecraft Country season finale broadcast in October. Green, who co-created another renowned series, WGN America’s Underground, before creating Lovecraft Country, stated, “I envision a second season that carries 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
Green teased Season 2 in response to the news on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/MishaGreen/status/1411123731653566466
Lovecraft Country’s plot
Lovecraft Country’s 10-episode first season featured Atticus Freeman (Majors) as he travels throughout 1950s Jim Crow America from Chicago with his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and childhood friend Letitia (Smollett) in quest of his missing father Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams). Their search-and-rescue mission evolves into a battle for survival against the racial terrors of white America and horrifying creatures straight out of an H.P. Lovecraft novel.
Green co-wrote and executive produced the film Lovecraft Country. Through his Monkeypaw Productions company, Peele served as executive producer. Through Bad Robot Production in collaboration with Warner Bros. Television, Abrams and Ben Stephenson served as executive producers. Executive producer Bill Carraro was also involved. Director Yann Demange of episode 1 and director Daniel Sackheim of episodes 2 and 3 were additional executive producers. Episode 1 of the series was executive produced by David Knoller.
