EXCLUSIVE: HBO has opted to not proceed with a second season of The Franchise, its superhero film satire from creator/govt producer Jon Brown and govt producers Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci.
“We’re so grateful to have had the chance to work with the tremendously gifted workforce behind The Franchise, particularly Sam Mendes, Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci, and this hilarious ensemble of actors,” an HBO spokesperson mentioned in a press release to Deadline. “Whereas we received’t be shifting ahead with one other season, we sit up for collaborating with all of them sooner or later.”
The transfer, which comes a bit over a month after the Nov. 24 Season 1 finale of The Franchise, is just not fully shocking. Showbiz comedies are large swings that not at all times land with audiences. That was the case with the effectively reviewed The Franchise (74% on Rotten Tomatoes), which has not cracked Nielsen’s Prime 10 streaming rankings.
Iannucci has a longstanding relationship with HBO. He created and govt produced one of many community’s most acclaimed comedy collection, Veep, as effectively sci-fi comedy Avenue 5.
The eight-episode Season 1 of The Franchise follows the crew of an unloved franchise film combating for his or her place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. Per the official logline, the collection shines a lightweight on the key chaos contained in the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the query — how precisely does the cinematic sausage get made? As a result of each f*ck-up has an origin story.
Himesh Patel, Aya Money, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein and Isaac Powell starred in The Franchise, with Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl among the many recurring forged.
Brown govt produced alongside Iannucci, through his Dundee Productions banner, and Mendes, through his All3Media-backed manufacturing firm Neal Road Productions. Oscar winner Mendes, who hatched the concept, directed the pilot. Pippa Harris, Nicolas Brown and Julie Pastor additionally govt produced for Neal Road.
