Peacock's executives have canceled the streaming service's reboot of drama, Queer As Folk, after just one season.
The new take on the drama only debuted at the start of June, with the entire first season dropping at once. Sadly, Deadline reports, it has now been axed and there will be no second season. (opens in new tab)
Peacock's take on the drama starred Fin Argus, CG, Jesse James Keitel, Ryan O’Connell, Johnny Sibilly, Devin Way, and Kim Cattrall. It followed a group of friends in New Orleans who find their lives turned upside down in the aftermath of a shooting at a nightclub called Babylon.
It debuted on June 9 with eight episodes in the first season. The season was well-reviewed, with a score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes (opens in new tab).
The reboot is actually the third iteration of Queer As Folk. The original, which was created by Russell T. Davies, the man behind It's A Sin and now back as showrunner of Doctor Who, chronicled the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street. It starred Game Of Thrones' Aidan Gillen, a young Charlie Hunnam, and Craig Kelly. It ran for 10 episodes between 1999 and 2000.
A US reboot, made by Showtime, which followed the lives of five gay men living in Pittsburgh, ran for five seasons and 83 episodes before it ended in 2005. The new reboot, which included Davies among its executive producers, was overseen by Stephen Dunn, who confirmed its end over the weekend.
Writing about the cancelation, Dunn wrote (opens in new tab): “It’s a rare gift in these times, and in this country, to be able to make a show as fearless and unapologetic as Queer As Folk. This experience changed our lives forever and we’re so grateful to have found this incredible new family. But today we received the disappointing news that we’re not getting a second season!
He continued: “We know how much it’s meant to the fans and while we’re heartbroken we won’t get to make more episodes, we wanna thank everyone for watching and falling in love with Brodie, Mingus, Ruthie, Noah, Shar, Julian, Daddius, Bussey, Marvin, Judy and Brenda. We’re so grateful for the chance to honor our community and are so proud of this show.”
The show is the second reboot of a classic 1990s show to end in recent months on Peacock. The streaming giant had previously said goodbye to its new take on Saved By The Bell in May.
Analysis: Is Peacock having its wings clipped?
Peacock, which is still a long way behind the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max in terms of subscriber numbers, posted another huge set of losses at the end of July.
The service is owned by Universal Pictures' parent company Comcast, which means it can probably absorb the losses. However, like every player in the market, its executives will have to make some tough decisions about what shows they take forward.
Earlier in the summer, executives canceled Peacock's planned TV adaptation of the bestselling and award-winning fantasy trilogy, The Green Bone Saga, while Rutherford Falls, the comedy led by The Office's Ed Helms, was axed in September.
Previous flagship shows like the Dan Brown adaptation The Lost Symbol and the expensive new take on classic dystopian novel Brave New World ended after single seasons, and, while executives will have high hopes for Vampire Academy, which brings to life Richelle Mead's novel of the same name, and their new Pitch Perfect TV spin-off, it's fair to say that Peacock has yet to find its Stranger Things just yet.
In fact, when Comcast chairman-CEO Brian Roberts spoke about Peacock's prospects for the fall, he talked up movies like Jurassic World: Dominion and Jordan Peele's new horror Nope and the Qatar World Cup, rather than any of the service's shows.
Among the streamer's future projects is a planned reboot of Battlestar Galactica, a big-budget adaptation of Victoria Aveyard's young adult series Red Queen, which is being overseen by Elizabeth Banks, and a take on Wild Cards, a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, which is overseen by George R. R. Martin. Maybe one of these will boost Peacock's presence in the market and make it compete with the big boys, we shall see.
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