‘The Crimson Field’ season 2: Why no renewal yet, and should there be one?

Tonight, the BBC will wrap up the six-episode run of “The Crimson Field,” which was a risky series to take on in the first place. War is horrible, and sometimes not everyone wants to be reminded of horrible things by having to watch it on TV.

However, there is still an audience out there for these sorts of programs, and it is with that in mind that we are so surprised to be talking here today without some official word as to the future of the series on TV. We had made an assumption that there would be at least one renewal, but that hasn’t happened yet.

So what are we waiting for? One issue may just be that the BBC is not super-confident with the program’s ratings right now. Last week’s episode hit a series low, and was only up slightly from the time period average from 2013. This may not be enough for them.

Another issue may be figuring out what the future for the show is going to be, given that Oona Chaplin has some other potential TV gigs out there in the US and they want to learn whether or not they’ll have her still around. Even if she is unable to continue with the show, though, it is hardly like this is a new situation for the BBC. They did something similar earlier this year with Peter Capaldi leaving “The Musketeers” in order to focus on “Doctor Who.”

If we had to guess, we would wager that the show would get one more six-episode season and have that be it. 12 episodes is a suitable length for a British series, and this isn’t going to be like “M*A*S*H” and go on for many years despite it only taking place over a shorter period of time.

If you want to read some more news related to “The Crimson Field,” including a review of the episode after it airs, just be sure to visit the link here. Also, you can sign up now for more via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: BBC