Data analytics for Disney+ in 2024 finds that ‘The Acolyte’ was cancelled on Disney+ despite being the second most watched show on the streaming service.
‘The Acolyte’
‘The Acolyte’ debuted on Disney+ in June 2024 with a first season of eight episodes. Disney announced that there would not be a second season of the show in August 2024, just weeks after the final episode premiered.
Low viewership was cited as the reason for the cancellation in most media reports, but new data puts that explanation into question. According to Luminate Data, an entertainment data analytics company, “The Acolyte” was actually the second most watched show on the streaming service, trailing only “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” in viewer minutes. “The Acolyte” accumulated 2.7 billion viewer minutes, an industry standard for measuring streaming viewership, while “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” was watched for just over 3 billion minutes.
Reporting at the time of cancellation noted that the viewership for the series had declined as each week’s installment dropped on Disney+. Reportedly, the eighth and final episode of the season received the lowest viewership of any Star Wars show that has run on the service. This argues that Disney cancelled the show because of declining viewership made it unlikely that viewership in a second season would match the performance of season one.
Another possible explanation for the dichotomy between “The Acolyte” being the second most watched show in 2024 and cancellation due to low viewership is the possibility that a significant portion of viewing minutes occurred after Disney cancelled the show. In a streaming world, shows can show viewership increases as time passes, which is not the case on traditional TV. It is possible, though unlikely, that Disney cancelled the show before viewing minutes accelerated.
Fans of the show, however, will likely view this as further evidence that the show was cancelled by Disney because of the controversy that the show generated.
“The Acolyte” became ensnared in the culture wars according to star Amandla Stenberg. At the time of the cancellation, Stenberg said “There has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it.” She went on to describe the attacks as “hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred, and hateful language.”
Series star Lee Jung-jae also expressed surprise at the time of the cancellation. Cast member Rebecca Henderson, spouse of series creator Leslye Headland, posted a link to a Rolling Stone article after the cancellation questioning whether “the best of the Star Wars could survive the worst of its fans” implicitly criticizing Disney’s decision and positioning the cancellation as Disney cancelling the show for reasons other than viewership.
“The Acolyte” has a 4.2/10 rating on IMDB, which fans believe is a result of “review bombing,” a practice where a large number of negative reviews are left with the intention of harming the work. Fans of “The Acolyte” have maintained that negative reviews are the result of a concerted effort to discredit the show and are not reflective of the actual quality of the show.
“The Acolyte” is a story set in time before the Skywalker saga. In the time of the High Republic, around 100 years before the events of “Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” a Jedi Master played by Lee investigates a series of crimes. His efforts bring him into contact with a former Padawan learner of his who left the Jedi Order earlier, played by Stenberg.
The show is a mystery thriller developed for the Star Wars universe by Headland. It is unusual for the traditional Star Wars universe in that it is set at a time when there is no war ongoing. The show was originally intended to be a multi-season offering.
Why do you think “The Acolyte” was cancelled? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Forbes
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