HBO’s supernatural drama Lovecraft Country wrapped up its first season back in October, but there has still been no word on a second season for the show. It averaged a 0.19 rating for same-day viewing based on the 18-49 demographic which is not a great score, but it is not terrible these days either. And the premium cable channels pay less attention to the same-day numbers because they do not have sponsors running commercials during the live broadcasts. They take into account the digital and delayed viewing as well as encore runs, and ultimately the success of the show is determined by how many subscribers its drives to the service. Plus, Lovecraft Country is also currently making the awards rounds, so it is still generating buzz and likely still pulling in new subscribers. But fans are certainly wondering at this point why there has not been a renewal announcement for the show.
The first season covered most of the story from the Matt Ruff book, but showrunner and executive producer Misha Green indicated in an interview that she has at least “20 seasons” more worth of story to tell. She also claims to be “in talks with HBO” about continuing the show, but nothing official has been decided at this point. Considering the continued production challenges in the pandemic environment, if HBO were to greenlight a second season right now, it would likely still be early 2022 at best before the show would return to the air. If the announcement is delayed much longer, that would push its second season start even further.
Of course, extended delays between seasons have become more common these days and they are pretty much expected in the current COVID-impacted environment. HBO’s Westworld had a one and a half year gap between its first and second seasons, and it was nearly two years after that before its third year arrived. Shows on the streaming services also tend to have extended lags between seasons with Netflix’s Stranger Things typically running a year and a half between seasons prior to the pandemic. Shows like that and Westworld have much higher production values than the typical fare on television, meaning that they take longer to complete each season, and Lovecraft Country falls into that group as well.
As mentioned above, the show is currently getting plenty of awards attention and that should help its chances for a second season renewal. The TCAs are currently in progress when network execs meet with the entertainment press, and there is a good chance that HBO could make an announcement during its upcoming session. It sure seems like continuing this one would be a no-brainer, and HBO has typically been good about supporting its shows. But a Call to Action on the social networks in support of the show could push HBO execs towards making that announcement sooner rather than later. I expect that this one will be back for a second season and more, but the entertainment industry is volatile, especially as the pandemic continues to interrupt scheduling, so perhaps a strong show of support from fans is what Lovecraft Country needs at this point.
Should Lovecraft Country return for a second season or did it wrap up nicely after its first year? Chime in with your thoughts below.
More from CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the ratings developments and the status of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Weekly Roundup posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
Lovecraft Country season 1 was actually a great show, solid fantasy horror with lots of good & important stuff between the frames. Not entertaining in the usual sense, but fascinating & a little quirky. Keeps you hooked. Fantastic film score & song selection, too. They should rather cancel Westworld. That one has been on a steady decline since season 1, though I liked the addition of Aaron Paul to the cast in season 3. (But his character was written poorly, to put it mildly.)