Both The Winter King and Beacon 23 canceled at MGM+
By Dan Selcke
To understand this story, you have to first know that there is a streaming service called MGM+. I don't think I've ever met a single person who subscribes to MGM+, which may explain why some of its programming is being canceled. TV Line reports that neither The Winter King nor Beacon 23 will be returning for additional seasons.
The Winter King ran for one 10-episodes season last year. I watched it because I'm a big fan of the books it's based on: Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles, a novel trilogy about the life of King Arthur filtered through Cornwell's prodigious gift for grounded historical fiction.
By and the large, the series disappointed me. It was a spotty adaptation of Cornwell's books, and I can't imagine it exciting newcomers. I'm sad that the show wasn't better — I would have settled for longer-lived, cause there's some great stuff from the books I would have liked to see onscreen even if the show was mediocre — but the original novels are great, and readable, and out there, so enjoy!
I didn't watch Beacon 23, but I know it starred Game of Thrones veteran Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), which makes it a shame that it's been canceled. Headey played Aster, who was alone with a man named Halan (Stephen James) on an deep space lighthouse far in the void. The show was based on a short story by Hugh Howey and sounded like a fun sci-fi trip. Beacon 23 ran for two seasons for a total of 16 episodes.
I don't know how much a chance either of these series had when they were streaming exclusively on MGM+. Maybe some studios are better off licensing content to other streaming services rather than making their own? Anyway, there's a possibility that both shows could get shopped around elsewhere, but I'm not feeling overly optimistic about it. Someday I'll get to see an adaptation of The Warlord Chronicles that makes me happy, but it is not this day.
dark. Next. All 10 episodes of The Winter King, ranked worst to best. All 10 episodes of The Winter King, ranked worst to best
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