‘Low Winter Sun’ predictably canceled by AMC; season 2 plans likely dashed forever
Bad news if you were one of the few people who actually caught (and enjoyed) AMC’s “Low Winter Sun” this summer / fall: You’re not going to be seeing it come back anytime in the near future.
Today, the network finally confirmed something that many out there suspected was going to be coming for quite a long time: A cancellation for the adaptation of the British miniseries. This was a show that had all of the hopes in the world of becoming a big hit. It had one of the same leads from the British show in Mark Strong, and it also aired following “Breaking Bad” for almost all of its entire first season. But, there were really two problems that led to its eventual demise:
1. The tone of this show was at times so depressing, watching “The Killing” felt like rolling around in a bed of summer flowers.
2. AMC totally botched the entire marketing effort for the show by almost making it a chore to watch the show, over-promoting it, having it air between “Breaking Bad” and “Talking Bad,” and also demanding that you watch the show in order to see previews for the next “Breaking Bad “episode. The show became a pop-culture joke. that’s never how you want people to think of your series.
Ultimately, “Low Winter Sun” wasn’t a terrible show; it was one that had strong performances and a good script behind it, but there was nothing about it that was going to get character-loving U.S. audiences to want to check it out. This may go down as one of the most predictable cancellations in history, since this show was barely even averaging 500,000 at the time in which it was sent off the air. The only reason the decision took this long is because AMC hates cancelling new shows after their first season. “Rubicon” is the only other drama to get this fate, and the basic rule here is that the only way you are sent out the door is if the ratings are so low that it becomes impossible to profit, and you’re not getting the awards buzz you would need to get more season 2 viewers.
Do you think that this is the right decision? Share below! While we’ve given AMC flak at times for its adoration for “The Walking Dead” and its prolonged salary negotiations with showrunners, this was the only move they could make here.
Photo: AMC