HBO renewed Vinyl, Terence Winter, Mick Jagger, and Martin Scorsese’s rock ‘n’ roll drama about the music industry in the 1970s, after only one lowly-rated episode had aired. They probably regret that decision now. Actually, we know they do: The premium cable network has called off a second season. Or in rock terms, there will be no encore.
“After careful consideration, we have decided not to proceed with a second season of Vinyl,” HBO said in a statement. “Obviously, this was not an easy decision. We have enormous respect for the creative team and cast for their hard work and passion on this project.” That creative team does not include showrunner Winter, who departed due to the dreaded “creative differences.”
Despite Vinyl‘s pathetic ratings (the series high was only 764,000 viewers for the premiere — no episode of Game of Thrones has been below 6.7 million this season), the cancellation is a shocker. It’s not often networks axe their shows after renewals, especially with a cast as high profile as Vinyl‘s, with Bobby Cannavale, Olivia Wilde, and Ray Romano near the top of the call sheet. But unlike Winter and Scorsese’s other series, Boardwalk Empire, which showed promise even in its lackluster first season, there was little fanfare for Vinyl. It will never become A Show That Gets Great, You Just Have to Wait Awhile.
With Game of Thrones maybe ending its run and this failure, it’s a good thing for HBO that Westworld is finally, actually happening.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
