After one season, The Acolyte has apparently been canceled. The Star Wars series which takes place approximately one hundred years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace arrived on Disney+ on June 4th and finished its first season at the end of July.
The news is coming from Deadline who shared that sourced confirmed the cancellation. Lesley Headland was the creator, director, executive producer and showrunner for The Acolyte. Amandla Stenberg starred in the series. She was joined by Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman and Carrie-Anne Moss.
The news is unfortunate but also not entirely surprising. The series did decently with critics. Star Wars fans, however, had mixed reactions to the series. This clearly led to the series not garnering the streaming numbers needed to necessitate a second season. What is surprising about this is that The Acolyte started quite strong with 4.8 million views in the first day on Disney+. This was the strongest opening of a series on Disney+ this year. Nielsen’s Top 10 ratings also confirmed that the series started out strong as well. The first week it was #7 and then it climbed to #6 during it second week.
Unfortunately, the series was not able to keep the momentum. Its third week it dropped out of the Top 10. It didn’t return to the Top 10 until its final episode when it reached #10.
The Acolyte Official Description
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
The Acolyte comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who also serves as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers; Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim, and Rob Bredow are producing.
Headland also directed the premiere episodes (episodes 101 and 102). Directors Kogonada (episodes 103 and 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (episodes 104 and 105), and Hanelle Culpepper (episodes 106 and 108) round out the directing duties on the series. Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored The Acolyte.
While Headland has revealed in interviews that she had pitched ideas for a second season. The numbers needed to validate a $100 million a season series pickup apparently weren’t there.
While The Acolyte may not be continuing on. Other series from the Star Wars universe are continuing on. Ahsoka has been renewed for a second season. The Mandalorian is making its way to the silver screen as The Mandalorian & Grogu.
What do you think about the cancellation of The Acolyte? Was it deserved? Did you enjoy it? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
