Why did Netflix cancel Cursed after one season?

The Katherine Langford-fronted series is not returning for a second season on Netflix

Why did Netflix cancel Cursed after one season? 1

After a year of waiting, the fate of the fantasy drama series Cursed has finally been revealed.

While there hasn’t been any formal announcement from Netflix or from the show’s cast and crew, a recent story by Deadline revealed that Cursed won’t be returning to the streaming giant for a second season. The news outlet reported that cast members have been released from their contracts, allowing them to pursue other opportunities elsewhere.

Netflix’s exact reason for canceling the Cursed after just one season is unclear, but the series didn’t seem to capture the zeitgeist or seize the cultural conversation the way the streamer would have hoped, even if the 10-episode season 1 of the show ranked as one of the most-watched content on the platform for quite some time following its July 17th, 2020 launch.

Though there were a lot of things to admire about the show, including its impressive production design, realistic visual effects, and brilliant performances from the cast, Cursed only debuted to lukewarm reviews and fan response, generating a 67 percent “fresh” average on Rotten Tomatoes.

It also doesn’t seem to help that Netflix has already renewed Shadow and Bone and The Witcher for additional seasons, as it’s possible that the streamer doesn’t want to crowd its library with too many medieval fantasy drama series.

Based on Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler’s illustrated book, Cursed was a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend as told through the eyes of Nimue (Katherine Langford), a teenage heroine with a mysterious gift who is destined to become the powerful and tragic Lady of the Lake. After her mother’s death, she found an unexpected partner in Arthur (Devon Terrell), a young mercenary in a quest to find Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgård) and deliver an ancient sword. Over the course of her journey, Nimue became a symbol of courage and rebellion against the terrifying Red Paladins, and their complicit King Uther (Sebastian Armesto).

Cursed also starred Lily Newmark as Pym, Peter Mullan as Father Carden, Shalom Brune-Franklin as Morgana, Bella Dayne as Red Spear, Matt Stokoe as Gawain, and Daniel Sharman as Weeping Monk. The season 1 finale, which now serves as the series finale, ended with the reveal that Sharman’s villainous character was actually Lancelot, the beloved knight of Arthur’s round table. His story would’ve been explored more deeply in season 2.

“What was quite fun about that is I had a secret that I couldn’t tell anybody,” Sharman told ComicBook.com of the big reveal about his character at the end of the show’s freshman run. “But that kind of feeds into a bit of the character. This fear that people are going to find out who he is. So, I was living in this life of basically hiding this other person, this other knowledge of this human being. And it kind of feeds into a bit of the story. That feeds into a little bit of the character being insanely in control and fearful of that inner life coming out, so it was kind of helpful.”

Cursed is the latest series to be canceled by Netflix after just one season. Other recent single-season cancellations at the streaming service include Jupiter’s Legacy, Grand Army, The Crew, and Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!.

Source: Deadline, ComicBook.com
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