In a disappointing turn for fans of sharp wit and talented writing, HBO has decided not to move forward with a second season of The Franchise, the superhero movie satire from creator Jon Brown and executive producers Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci. The series premiered in Fall to good reviews, with a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but good reviews weren’t enough to save it. The nail in the proverbial coffin comes just over a month after the November 24th finale, which left us with a ton of questions about, yes, the future of the franchise within The Franchise. Sadly, it seems we’ll never learn the answers. Despite its biting humor and an amazing cast including Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, and Richard E. Grant, the series didn’t achieve the audience traction HBO might have hoped for, with The Franchise failing to crack Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming rankings.
“We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the tremendously talented team behind The Franchise, especially Sam Mendes, Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci, and this hilarious ensemble of actors,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement to Deadline. “While we won’t be moving forward with another season, we look forward to collaborating with all of them in the future.”
Is ‘The Franchise’ Season 1 Worth Watching?
As is ever the case, a series with an elevated and dark sense of humour failed to connect with audiences, while being critical darlings. Collider’s Maggie Lovitt reviewed the series for us, and, in her 9/10 review, threw praise on the show for its bold steps, its biting satire and its wicked sense of humor, as well as the great job it did in highlighting the unsung heroes who populate the sets of every big project in Hollywood.
The Franchise focuses on the true unsung heroes on a movie set: first ADs, script supervisors, and all the crew members that no one is lining up to interview on the red carpet of a premiere. This series isn’t a love letter to cinema; it is a love letter to the people sacrificing their mental, emotional, and physical well-being to create the Frankensteined franchise movies that society loves to hate.Armando Iannucci, Jon Brown, and Sam Mendes have crafted an unforgettable and endlessly entertaining series that is filled to the brim with wry, dark humor, unfortunate truths, and an exceptional cast that knows exactly how to deliver what this show aims to be. Whether you’re still gleefully consuming all the superhero “content,” regardless of quality, or ready to watch the genre slink off into the shadows, The Franchise is the perfect satire to satiate everyone.
The Franchise‘s first and only season is available to stream now on Max.
A team trapped inside the dysfunctional hell of creating franchise superhero movies, at the end of the day the question they face is: is this Hollywood’s new dawn or cinema’s last stand? Is this a dream factory or a chemical plant?
- Release Date
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October 6, 2024
- Seasons
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1
- Showrunner
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Jon Brown
