Taika Waititi’s cult sci-fi show has been canceled just 54 days after its premiere
Time Bandits, the new Apple Plus TV show created by Taika Waititi, Jermaine Clement, and Iain Morris, has been canceled after just one season.
Based on Terry Gilliam’s cult classic 1981 fantasy movie – which involved a group of thieves stealing various items through history – Time Bandits was met with decent reviews (78% on Rotten Tomatoes and 65% on Metacritic), but seemingly failed to ignite with viewers.
That’s all in spite of a cast featuring a who’s who of comedy and character actors, including Peep Show’s Matt King, Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss and What We Do in the Shadows’ Jonathan Brugh. Clement and Waititi also appeared in the series as Pure Evil and the Supreme Being respectively, which Lisa Kudrow served as lead alongside Kal-El Tuck as Kevin.
Deadline reports that, though the series did well in the UK, it failed to crack Nielsen’s top 10.
Time Bandits joins a long list of shows that have been canceled this year. Notable names include Star Wars series The Acolyte, Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives, and Amazon’s My Lady Jane – a decision which had George R.R. Martin bristling on his personal blog.
“I have always loved alternate history and Jane Grey, England’s nine-days queen, has always fascinated me,” Martin wrote. “Small wonder, then, that I really enjoyed My Lady Jane, a clever and original historical fantasy on Amazon Prime, set in an England full of witches and shapechangers, where Jane lasts more than nine days.”
Martin added, “Jane deserved more than nine days, or eight episodes.”
For more, check out the best Apple Plus TV shows and best Prime Video TV shows.