(Photo: Aimee Spinks/Showtime)
Faraday isn’t returning to Earth, or Showtime, for that matter. The cable channel has opted not to continue The Man Who Fell to Earth, so there won’t be a second season. The first season of 10 episodes finished airing in early July. The show was originally ordered to series by CBS All Access, now known as Paramount+.
A sci-fi drama series, The Man Who Fell to Earth TV show was inspired by the Walter Tevis novel and the David Bowie film. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, Jimmi Simpson, Rob Delaney, Sonya Cassidy, Joana Ribeiro, Annelle Olaleye, Kate Mulgrew, Clarke Peters, and Bill Nighy. The story follows a new alien character (Ejiofor) who crashes into the oil fields of New Mexico at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future. Justin Falls (Harris) is a brilliant scientist and engineer who must conquer her own demons in the race to save two worlds.
Airing on Sunday nights, the first season of The Man Who Fell to Earth averages a 0.02 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 149,000 viewers in the live+same day ratings (including DVR playback through 3:00 AM). While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. The series was a middle-of-the-road performer.
“Our thanks to the extraordinary Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, John Hlavin, and Sarah Timberman, who did a great job of turning the David Bowie film into such a resonant tale for our times,” a Showtime spokesperson said in a statement to THR. “And kudos to a wondrous cast led by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, and Bill Nighy for bringing it to life. Alex and Jenny originally intended The Man Who Fell To Earth to be a close-ended story. While we flirted with the idea of expanding it into a second season, we all ultimately decided to embrace it as a one-season story well told.”
What do you think? Have you watched The Man Who Fell to Earth TV series on Showtime? Are you disappointed to hear that the series hasn’t been renewed for a second season, or is one season a good place to end the story?