Disney has canceled "The Acolyte" after just one season, which probably won't come as a shock to anyone who followed the discourse surrounding Osha and Mae's High Republic adventures.
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00:00Disney has canceled The Acolyte after just one season, which probably won't come as a
00:04shock to anyone who followed the discourse surrounding Osha and Mae's High Republic adventures.
00:09Despite being fairly well-received by critics, Star Wars fans ripped apart the lore-breaking
00:13aspects of the show, and the negative word-of-mouth contributed to a nearly non-existent audience.
00:18The Acolyte had record-low viewership numbers. However, Disney's decision to 86 the show
00:24was likely at least somewhat motivated by money, as it wasn't a cheap series to produce.
00:29Cut. Nice.
00:32Many fans feel that the show's high budget was the main reason why the studio canceled
00:35it, with one ex-user writing,
00:37"...giving a huge budget to a show which is brand new to most people was a big risk."
00:41Disney reportedly spent $180 million on The Acolyte, so the idea that it was removed from
00:47the schedule in an effort to save money makes some sense, though the first season of fan-favorite
00:51Andor cost $250 million, so The Acolyte isn't even the priciest live-action Star Wars series.
00:57On the other hand, Andor received good word-of-mouth and increased their audience as the show unfolded
01:02weekly, whereas The Acolyte became meme fodder. The proliferation of streaming means that
01:07studios have to be picky with how they spend their billions.
01:10Unfortunately for The Acolyte, the finale received the lowest viewership for a Star
01:14Wars series yet, and it didn't exactly have widespread fan support on its side either.
01:18However, did the series justify its price tag in the first place? Some fans feel that
01:22the money was misspent, as it doesn't look like a prestige production. One Redditor posted,
01:27"...where did that budget go?" is a question that should be asked about a lot of Disney's
01:32work recently. The budgets are absurd, almost to the point where it seems to be impossible
01:36for a show to be good enough to warrant a season two.
01:39Another fan noted that The Acolyte cost more to make than one of HBO's biggest series,
01:43writing,
01:44"...that show was more expensive per episode by $2 million than House of the Dragon. That's
01:49how badly they managed the budget."
01:51Despite this, some fans will miss the sci-fi saga. Reviewers will certainly miss it, but
01:56the reality is that the show was very expensive, had a small audience, and really ticked off
02:00hardcore fans. That's the reality.
02:03"...attachments to those we have lost are the most difficult to let go."
02:07Meanwhile, some fans claimed that the Disney Plus series was refreshing, including painting
02:11the Jedi in a more morally questionable light at times. As one fan posted,
02:15"...The Acolyte was different. It took risks. It invited a new audience to explore and enjoy
02:20Star Wars where they never had before."
02:22There were some people who liked The Acolyte. There were more that hated it. It's possible
02:26that Disney could try and salvage some aspect of the show, but for now, its legacy will
02:30be Disney Plus' version of the Star Wars holiday special.