Comedy series with huge Hollywood stars axed after mixed reviews - leaving fans devastated
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Apple TV + has 'axed' comedy series Time Bandits after just one season.
The adaptation of Terry Gilliam's cult classic film starred some huge Hollywood stars, including Friends icon Lisa Kudrow.
But, despite its A-list cast, the adventure flick will reportedly not be renewed for a second season because it 'did not attract enough viewers'.
Time Bandits saw an unlikely alliance form between a band of thieves and Kevin - an 11-year-old history buff - as they embarked on a perilous mission to save Kevin's family and the world.
The 2024 series was created by Avatar's Jemaine Clement, The Inbetweeners' Iain Morris and Thor's Taika Waititi.
Apple TV + has 'axed' the comedy series Time Bandits after just one series. The adaptation of Terry Gilliam's cult classic film starred huge Hollywood stars including Friends' Lisa Kudrow
But, despite its A-lister cast, the adventure flick will reportedly not be renewed for a second season because it 'did not attract enough viewers'
The decision to cancel its production comes just a month after it aired its final two episodes.
Time Bandits released ten episodes in two-show batches every week for five weeks.
While the 1981 movie has a lifelong cult following, the series did not meet expectations as it only scored 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes' 'Tomatometer' and 48 percent on 'Popcornmeter.'
Despite the less-than-favourable ratings, fans were devastated by the news and were 'beyond upset'.
One penned: 'I'm confused. I don't know what happened. I'm beyond upset about#TimeBandits, but I don't know who is excited about another show's cancellation. That's not a good look.'
'I liked #timebandits, even if Taika Waititi decided to cast himself as God, which is a little on the nose, even for Taika Waititi. And (spoilers) the ending with the dwarfs escaping with the map, suggesting that they'll reset the timeline into the movie? neat.'
'#TimeBandits didn't deserve to be cancelled. and made a wholesome fun and inclusive show, and if it was available for purchase I'd have bought it already! What are these decisions even being based on?!?!'
'Another fantastic show cancelled too soon. #TimeBandits When will this end? Can I even have one show I love not be cancelled before it's time?????'
Time Bandits saw an unlikely alliance form between a band of thieves and Kevin - an 11-year-old history buff - as they embarked on a perilous mission to save Kevin's family and the world (Pictured L to R: Tadhg Murphy, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Lisa Kudrow, Kal-El Tuck, Kiera Thompson and Rune Temte)
The 2024 series was created by Avatar's Jemaine Clement, The Inbetweeners' Iain Morris and Thor's Taika Waititi (pictured)
The decision to cancel its production comes just a month after it aired its final two episodes
The decision to cancel its production comes just a month after it aired its final two episodes
'Time's up for the Time Bandits over at Apple TV.'
'So nice of @AppleTV to cancel #TimeBandits on Kal-El Tuck (Kevin) 's birthday. You couldn't have picked another day?!?'
'Another #TV cancellation but this time from Apple. It's really difficult to give your heart to a new TV show in this savage era. I hope they didn't leave it on a cliffhanger.'
MailOnline has contacted AppleTV+ for a comment.
The new season saw Lisa take on the role of Penelope, Kal-El Tuck as Kevin Haddock, Tadhg Murphy as Alto, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva as Widgit, Rune Temte as Bittelig, Rachel House as Fianna, Kiera Thompson as Saffron and Charlyne Yi as Judt,
Taika also cast himself as the Supreme Being in the flick.
The reason behind the lack of interest could be down to the fact that many cult followers of the original flick refused to watch the new adaptation because he reportedly had 'controversial casting choices'.
Terry's original film saw protagonist Kevin accompanied by a group of dwarf actors for his adventures.
But Taika decided to cast the group with regularly sized actors instead—an obvious bid to avoid offending.
Despite the want to no offend, people who live with dwarfism hit out at the director and claimed the move was taking away already scarce acting roles away from them.
While the series was in production, actress Abbie Grace took to social media to voice her disappointment that no one with dwarfism was listed in the cast announcement.
Abbie is the granddaughter of Jack Purvis - who played Wally in the original - and she previously demanded an explanation for why the director is 'tarnishing her late grandfather's legacy'.
Taika's production is based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 film of the same name, which starred industry Hollywood heavyweights like Sean Connery, John Cleese and Ian Holm
The original famously featured six actors with dwarfism in key roles, including Abbie's grandfather Mr Purvis, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker (best known for playing R2-D2 in Star Wars), Malcolm Dixon, Mike Edmonds, and Tiny Ross
Abbie, from Scotland, added in 2022 that she felt 'forgotten', after initially feeling excited about the opportunities the upcoming release may offer for actors of shorter stature like herself.
While there are some actors in the cast with dwarfism, according to IMDB, it has been noted that the Time Bandits themselves are now made up of able-bodied actors.
Taika's production is based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 film of the same name, which starred industry Hollywood heavyweights like Sean Connery, John Cleese and Ian Holm.
The original famously featured six actors with dwarfism in key roles, including Abbie's grandfather Mr Purvis, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker (best known for playing R2-D2 in Star Wars), Malcolm Dixon, Mike Edmonds, and Tiny Ross.
