HBO’s acclaimed horror show, Lovecraft Country, will not be returning for a second season, Deadline is reporting. The television network has confirmed that it cancelled the drama, despite it receiving critical acclaim and multiple award nominations and wins by such organizations as the Golden Globes and SAG.
“We will not be moving forward with a second season of Lovecraft Country,” HBO said in a statement to Deadline. “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.”
Green not only developed, and served as the showrunner on, the fictional period show, but also wrote, produced and directed multiple installments of its 10-epiosde first season. The filmmaker, who signed on to pen and helm the upcoming Tomb Raider sequel in her feature directorial debut earlier this year, based Lovecraft Country on the 2016 novel of the same name by Matt Ruff.
The series immediately garnered attention when it premiered last August on HBO, particularly for its unique blend of horror, fictional period drama, real historical figures, fantasy, sci-fi and social commentary. Lovecraft Country also quickly grew its fan base for its acting by its cast, which was led by Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors.
Fans embraced the show so much that the Season 1 finale drew in one-and-a-half million viewers. That gross made it the most watched new episode of an original series on HBO Max in its first day of availability.
But the enthusiastic reception of the first season of Lovecraft Country, which was also produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, didn’t guarantee that it would be renewed. While HBO pursued a potential second season for the drama, it no longer had source material to base new episodes on, since the first chapter was inspired by Ruff’s sole book.
Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer of HBO and HBO Max, told Deadline in February that Green “had a book to go on in the first season. She and the writers wanted to 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.”
When the Lovecraft Country finale aired in October, Green told Deadline where she wanted to take the show. “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,” she said.
Ultimately, after careful consideration, the network and filmmaker decided not to proceed with a second season for the series. After the news of its cancellation, Green, who also co-created another acclaimed show, WGN America’s Underground, before developing Lovecraft Country, shared a Season 2 teaser on her Twitter account.
The first-and now only-season of Lovecraft Country followed Atticus Freeman (Majors) as he journeys with his childhood friend Letitia (Smollett) and his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) on a road trip from Chicago across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams). Their search-and-rescue turns into a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and monstrous creatures that could be ripped from an H.P. Lovecraft paperback.