Thursday, 30 June 2011

Starz cancel CAMELOT

Thursday, 30 June 2011

I'm actually rather surprised by the news that Starz have cancelled Camelot, their adaptation of the Arthurian legend, starring Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green. The ratings were decent (the premiere was a network record-breaker, the finale attracted 1.5 million, viewership was going up towards the end), but US reviews remained very mixed. Interestingly, the show's been received better by UK critics (well, from what little I've read), perhaps because we're more tolerant of a show's daftness? Deadline are reporting that scheduling conflicts with some of the actors also influenced the cable channel's decision. If true, I'm not sure what deal the actors had with Starz when they signed up, as it seems obvious you should keep your diary open once you make a commitment to a US TV series.

Oh well. Better shows have joined the "one-season wonder" club, so I'm not going to lose any sleep about it, but it's a shame the finale's set-up for season 2 won't amount to anything now. Then again, over 10 episodes Camelot explored most of the Arthurian legend's iconic ideas, and most of its own unique storylines were resolved, so it could have been worse.

Are you annoyed by the decision to axe Camelot? Could the show have improved, or did it deserve to be cancelled so soon?