Wait, so was the divisiveStar WarsseriesThe Acolytepopular after all? The show, which saw a major split between critics and audiences (just the latest example of such a chasm in the beloved franchise) was unceremoniously canceled after just one season back in July last year. But, while reports claimed the cancelation came as a result of low viewership, the latest report fromLuminateadds a layer of suspicion to such claims.
According to the report,The Acolytewas not only pretty popular among viewers, it was the second most viewed show of 2024 onDisney+. Trailing just behind the hit fantasy seriesPercy Jackson and the Olympians, which took the top spot on the streamer thanks to its more than 3 billion minutes viewed,The Acolytetook silver, falling slightly behind with 2.7 billion minutes.
These figures come as something of a surprise, as reports at the time stated thatthe cancelation ofThe Acolyte, which was originally marketed as a multi-season show, was down to low viewership. While the figures do show that viewership numbers waned as the series progressed, you would think that being the second-biggest show on Disney+ would justify at least one more outing.
So, Why Was ‘The Acolyte’ Canceled?
Of course, it’s not just viewership that matters, but also how those numbers stack up against the budget.The Acolytereportedly had a huge budget of over $230 million, with co-chair of Disney Alan Bergman revealing in December last year thatthings did not tally well enoughfor a second season to get the greenlight.
“So as it relates to Acolyte, we were happy with our performance, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a season two. So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that.”
Canceling The Acolyte Shows Disney Is Making the Same Mistakes With Star Wars
The cancelation of The Acolyte continues a frustrating trend of Star Wars' fear of new ideas.
Sadly, like a lot ofStar Wars(and other major IPs) these days,The Acolytewas met with a lot of toxicity from a certain section of the fanbase. The series was met with “review bombing,” with some even targeting the stars themselves on social media. StarAmandla Stenberg has since called outthe “hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language” thrown at the show, calling the cancelation a “huge shock.”
“I thought I would get on here, and just speak candidly. I hate doing this. I hate doing this, but I’m gonna do it. I honestly, I don’t use social media very much anymore, and I’m so happy about that, but there are many folks out there that I want to acknowledge and I want to show appreciation and love and support for so that’s why I’m hopping on here to talk about this, which is that our show, our Star Wars show, has been canceled. And I’m gonna say, I’m really transparent, and say that it’s not a huge shock for me.”
Created by Leslye Headland and released on Disney+ back in June,The Acolytefollows a former Padawan who reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes but discovers the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
The Acolyte
