‘The Musketeers’ season 1 ends low; bad news for season 2 minus Peter Capaldi?

We’ve long maintained that BBC’s “The Musketeers” is a fun take on the classic story that is different than anything else on TV. So why haven’t all viewers in Britain agreed?

Despite airing at times behind the enormous hit “Call the Midwife” on the network, the ratings for the show were not always anywhere near that level. The finale and some preceding episodes didn’t have that lead-in, and Sunday’s installment dipped down to 3.98 million viewers. It was bested by the return of “Endeavour” to ITV with over 5 million viewers, while the #1 program of the night was “Countryfile” with more than 6.2 million.

Do the “Musketeers” numbers mean troubling signs ahead for season 2? The good thing is that there is at least no reason to worry about the show’s future. More episodes were ordered weeks ago, with the major caveat being the departure of Peter Capaldi as the Cardinal. That is what we would be truly worried about. The “Doctor Who” actor has a large following, and we have to hope that most of those viewers stay put for the next go-around. We figure that most of them will; while Peter’s performance is great, so are many of the other performers.

Hopefully, “The Musketeers” will be aided by more attention that it gets when it airs on BBC America this summer, and through word-of-mouth in the months ahead. This is what has helped so many other series in the past several years, whether you are talking about an American network hit like “Scandal,” or a show like “Breaking Bad” that took off worldwide after starting off with pretty miserable ratings on AMC.

For more of what we know about the second season of “The Musketeers” right now, visit the link here. You can also sign up now to get further updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter on all the shows we cover.

Photo: BBC One