The Acolyte’s cancellation proves TV is in peril

No TV series is safe.

At least, that’s how it feels in today’s day and age, when streaming platforms rule the roost and seem to cancel fan-favourite shows on a whim.

It’s not even enough to create a show of the highest possible quality, boasting a talented cast, a gripping story with the potential to span several seasons and a passionate fanbase.

And Star Wars series The Acolyte, which ended on Disney Plus a mere month ago, is the latest brutal casualty.

After just one season, The Acolyte has already reportedly been cancelled, despite proving itself to be one of Star Wars’ most exciting projects in years.

Not only that, but in a cruel twist of the knife, the news of its cancellation came on the birthday of one of its lead stars, Manny Jacinto, who was hailed for his standout performance as the terrifying, Force-wielding villain the Stranger.

According to figures obtained by Deadline – who first reported the news of the drama’s axe – the show garnered almost five million views in one day after its two-episode launch on Disney Plus on June 4.

This meant that it became ‘the biggest series premiere on Disney Plus this year’… but even that wasn’t enough to secure its future.

While the show dropped in viewership as the weeks went on – amid intense backlash from toxic trolls who raged over a preposterous ‘woke agenda’ – its thrilling finale meant that it ended on a high with unanswered questions and a bright future ahead.

But hopes for that future have been dashed. And as they’re forced to grapple with yet another TV series being shelved before it had a chance to breathe, fans are crushed.

‘What a s***ty timeline we’re in. Legitimately awful. No room for projects to grow their audiences,’ lamented radio host Alden Diaz on X.

‘Just instant dismissal for the people who worked on #TheAcolyte, Willow, and a hundred other shows. All because of shortsighted business. Streaming is mostly a plague at this point.’

Another fan called Jacob, described as ‘A Star Wars Story’s Biggest Fan’ in their X bio, remarked: ‘This news about #TheAcolyte is honestly just indicative of a much larger problem with streaming platforms (and the giant corporations that own them) in general.

‘No show has a 100% chance of survival anymore. The “pilot episode” no longer really exists. Any show, no matter of ratings or reviews, is subject to be canceled at any point, and either ripped off of the platform entirely, making it legally inaccessible to watch/purchase, or buried under more content.

‘It’s shameful, harmful, and most of all: greedy.’

The Acolyte follows a long line of TV shows in recent years to have been axed in spite of a diehard fan following – and its further proof that the current TV landscape is in peril.

Just a few days ago, it was confirmed that Amazon Prime Video’s raunchy romantic drama My Lady Jane had also been shelved after one season, despite being hailed as ‘one of the best’ TV shows of 2024.

The tantalising chemistry between the two leads, and the fact that fans were basically salivating over the steamy scenes, apparently didn’t seem to matter to the bigwigs who decided whether or not they’d invest in new episodes.

You just have to browse the TikTok videos fans have made about the characters’ romance, accumulating hundreds of thousands of views on the social media platform, to see how much they care.

It appears that in many cases, an immediate stream of money will be prioritised over creativity and passion. A truly sad sign of the times.

Journalist Erik Kain pointed out the devastating reality behind these cancellations in Forbes, writing: ‘Ratings and money always dictate these decisions, but I wish streamers like Amazon had something else: Vision. Vision and the courage to give something new the space and time it needs to grow.

‘I truly believe that My Lady Jane would have continued to build a loyal and passionate audience – after all, its fans are wildly loyal already. Now, all the charm and effort that made this series so great has been cut short.’

If we were to list the recently-released – and recently-cancelled – TV shows of the past few years, we could go on and on.

Shadow and Bone, 1899, Lockwood and Co, The OA, Glow, The Great and Willow are just a few of the doomed programmes on streamers including Netflix and Disney Plus.

So what can be done about this spate of fickle cancellations that appear to be never-ending and a punch to the gut every single time?

At the end of the day, we know that streaming giants and TV networks need to make money – but are they really making the right calls if their seemingly callous decision-making is leaving audiences devastated?

You’d hope that the outrage over The Acolyte and My Lady Jane would bring them to their senses and prompt them to actually pay attention to what the fans are saying.

It’s also important to clarify that fans aren’t just upset that their favourite shows are ending, as of course, nothing in life lasts forever.

It’s the abrupt nature of these cancellations that seem to come out of nowhere, leaving stories unfinished and often on frustrating cliffhangers that will never be resolved.

There are some instances where shows have been saved, such as Minx, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Sense8 – but this isn’t always guaranteed.

We can only hope that this pattern of axes will be disrupted in the very near future. At this stage, we’re just trying our best not to get too invested.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Disney for comment.

The Acolyte is available to watch on Disney Plus.

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