Hulu Cancels ‘The Great’ & ‘How I Met Your Father’
Late last week, US streaming service Hulu sharpened its axe and cut down two series – the sitcom ‘How I Met Your Father‘ after 2 seasons, and satirical drama ‘The Great‘ after 3 seasons.
‘How I Met Your Father’, the spin-off from the hugely popular ‘How I Met Your Mother’, began in the near future, where Sophie (Kim Cattrall) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the present where Sophie (Hilary Duff) and her close-knit group of friends – Jesse (Chris Lowell), Valentina (Francia Raisa), Charlie (Tom Ainsley), Ellen (Tien Tran) and Sid (Suraj Sharma) – are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.
We don’t know what the viewing numbers were like for the show on Hulu, but I think it is fair to say that whilst the series was fun and enjoyable, it never really managed to capture the spark of the original show. It was also one of the few multi-camera “traditional” sitcoms running on a streaming service.
In a post on social media thanking the cast and crew, exec producer Craig Thomas commented “Sometimes this is how it goes in this crazy business…”
‘The Great’ was a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) from outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia’s history. A fictionalized, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter (Nicholas Hoult).
This cancellation was a bit more of a shock, given the avalanche of positive reviews and Emmy nominations garnered by the series. Hulu has declined to comment on its reasoning for the surprising axe. It could be purely viewing numbers vs. the cost. It is a period piece, which is inevitably more expensive to produce. However, it is still a head-scratchingly odd decision.
It should also be noted, whilst ‘How I Met Your Father’ was made by Disney’s 20th Television and aired on Disney+ in the UK, ‘The Great’ was produced by outside studios, and the international rights were with other broadcasters (e.g. Lionsgate+ and Channel 4 in the UK). That means the historical dramedy would have been less profitable for Disney, which may also have contributed to its demise.
In the UK ‘How I Met Your Father‘ aired on Disney+, whilst ‘The Great‘ premiered on Lionsgate+, and later aired on Channel 4.
