(Photo: Aimee Spinks/Lookout Point)
The story of Anne Lister won’t continue on BBC One and HBO. The outlets have cancelled the Gentleman Jack program so there won’t be a third season. Season two finished airing in the United States on June 13th.
A period drama series, the Gentleman Jack TV show stars Suranne Jones, Timothy West, Jodhi May, Katherine Kelly, Derek Riddell, Stephanie Cole, Peter Davison, Amelia Bullmore, Vincent Franklin, Shaun Dooley, Rosie Cavaliero, Joe Armstrong, Anthony Flanagan, and George Costigan. Drawing upon the real Anne Lister’s copious diary entries (part of which were written in code), the story centers on Anne (Jones), a landowner and industrialist. She sets out to shore up Shibden Hall, her West Yorkshire family estate, by reopening the local Halifax coal mine and marrying well. The twist is, Anne does not intend to marry a man. In season two, it’s 1832 and all eyes are on Anne Lister and Ann Walker (Rundle) as they set up home together at Shibden Hall as wife and wife, determined to combine their estates and become a power couple. Anne’s entrepreneurial spirit frightens the locals as much as her unconventional love life and, with Halifax on the brink of revolution, her refusal to keep a low profile becomes provocative and dangerous.
On HBO, the second season of Gentleman Jack averaged a 0.01 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 92,000 viewers in the live+same day ratings (includes all DVR playback through 3:00 AM). Compared to season one (which aired in 2019), that’s down by 93% in the demo and down by 76% in viewership. It surely didn’t help that there were three years between seasons and that the sophomore season aired on Mondays, a night that’s watched by far fewer HBO subscribers.
“HBO will not be moving forward with a third season of Gentleman Jack,” the cable channel said in a statement to Deadline. “When we began this journey more than five years ago, we knew the series’ creator Sally Wainwright had a uniquely compelling vision, and it’s been tremendously gratifying to see how Anne Lister’s journey has resonated with viewers. We are incredibly grateful to Sally, to the impeccable Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle, and to the entire cast and crew for bringing Anne and Ann’s story to life. We’d also like to thank our partners at BBC and Lookout Point for their collaboration on two remarkable seasons.”
Here are some reactions to the cancellation:
What do you think? Have you watched the Gentleman Jack TV series on HBO or BBC One? Are you disappointed that it wasn’t renewed for a third season?