‘Time Bandits’ Canceled By Apple TV+ After 1 Season
deadline.comTime Bandits‘ latest adventure has come to an end. Apple TV+ has opted not to renew the series adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s cult classic film for a second season.
The news comes almost a month after the 10-episode first season of the fantasy series starring Lisa Kudrow ended its run, released in batches of two episodes weekly.
The development is not entirely surprising. Despite the nostalgia factor and mostly favorable reviews (78% on Rotten Tomatoes), Time Bandits, created by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi, did not attract large enough audience and was not able to crack Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming rankings. (I hear the series did well in the UK, the movie’s home country that also serves as the show’s contemporary setting.) After the initial round of the streaming wars where gaining market share was the sole objective, streamers have been applying a more disciplined approach in their shift to profitability, with big-budget scripted series like Time Bandits under particular scrutiny, tasked with clearing a higher viewership bar in order to continue.
The cancellation ends a long journey that started more than six years ago when Apple TV+ acquired the rights to the beloved 1981 movie for a series adaptation produced by the now-defunct Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content’s AC Studios and MRC.
Read more on deadline.com
