Lovecraft Country season 2 isn’t happening on HBO
By Dan Selcke
Lovecraft Country, an adaptation of Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, debuted on HBO in 2020 and immediately made an impression. The show combined Lovecraftian ideas of cosmic horror with a bracing look at American racial tensions in the 1950s, all of it held down by an excellent cast that included Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Michael K. Williams and Wunmi Mosaku.
Now, the show was based on a single book, and it adapted the whole thing, so a second season never seemed like a sure thing. Still, enough cast members teased that one might be coming that I allowed myself to hope. But no. HBO has formally announced that Lovecraft Country will not be returning to the network, per Variety.
“We will not be moving forward with a second season of ‘Lovecraft Country,’” HBO said. “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.”
I note that HBO announced this on a Friday afternoon, which is usually what a network when it needs to deliver bad news but hopes people will be too distracted with the start of their weekend to care. Well, jokes on you, HBO, because I don’t have a life. So…checkmate…?
HBO cancels Lovecraft Country like it cancelled The Outsider
This reminds me of what HBO did with The Outsider, another successful horror series adapted from a book (this one by Stephen King) that premiered in 2020. The show seemed to be a hit, but HBO opted not to bring it back; last we checked, the producers were shopping it around to other networks.
Overall, I’m not too upset about this. I think we sometimes reflexively assume that every series has to be some kind of grand epic even though it might only take one season to tell a good story. That’s especially true in the U.S., as elsewhere — in Great Britain, for instance — it’s more common to have one-and-done series. Not everything is Game of Thrones and that’s okay.
And with that, enjoy your weekend!
Next. Inequality is the real enemy in FX’s Alien show…and Xenomorphs, probably. dark
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