The Acolyte star Amandla Stenberg has shared her opinion on the Star Wars show’s cancellation after one season – see what she had to say below.
Earlier this month, it was announced that The Acolyte was reportedly getting scrapped after just one season, partially due to low viewership numbers. The show was well-received by critics (including NME), but was divisive to fans and resulted in a dire 18 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, series lead Stenberg has shared her thoughts on the cancellation in a series of Instagram Stories that run for over eight minutes. The videos were compiled and shared on X/Twitter, in which she revealed that she wasn’t too surprised by its cancellation given fans’ reactions even before it premiered.
After thanking the show’s cast and crew, Stenberg said: “It’s not a huge shock for me. Of course, I live in the bubble of my own reality but for those who aren’t aware there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it.”
“That’s when we started experiencing a rampage of hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred, and hateful language towards us. This really affected me when I first got the job because it’s just not something, even though I anticipated it happening, it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it’s happening to you, however, I feel like I’ve kind of moved through those feelings in various ways, including being vocal about it myself,” she continued.
Amandla Stenberg speaks on #TheAcolyte getting canceled
“It’s not a huge shock for me [that it was canceled]. Of course, I live in the bubble of my own reality but for those who aren’t aware there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even… pic.twitter.com/sk7U8GFq7U
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) August 28, 2024
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Later on in the videos, Stenberg would go on to acknowledge that while many slammed the show, she also received a decent amount of support from fans, going on to list her appreciation for their fan theories, fan art and more, and that she was sorry they wouldn’t be able to get more out of the Acolyte series.
“It has been an incredible honour and dream for me to be in this universe. And I just want to let those people know out there who supported us in that way, and supported us vocally in the face of all of the vitriol that we received, and the kind of the targeted attack I would say we received by the alt-right, just that you were deeply loved and appreciated, and it made this job all the worthwhile for me.”
The series was already panned by fans before its release, with many slamming its trailer earlier in the year for “looking cheap”. Series lead Amandla Stenberg also experienced severe racism for her role in the show, leading to her writing and releasing a song in response to her haters.
Other notable Star Wars series such as The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi never received second seasons. The Acolyte, however, ended on a cliffhanger and had teased big events in a potential second season, with showrunner Leslye Headland going on record to say she was hoping for a renewal.
The Acolyte was created by Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland and stars Stenberg (The Hate U Give, Bodies Bodies Bodies) in the twin lead roles of Osha and Mae. The two characters are raised by a coven of witches, led by Jodie Turner-Smith, and are separated by tragedy, with Osha training as a Jedi before lapsing, while Mae turns to the dark side.
In a four-star review of The Acolyte, Paul Bradshaw wrote for NME: “As with everything in Star Wars, balance is everything – but it feels like Headland has managed to walk a finer line than most with The Acolyte. It’s new, without feeling unconnected. Pristine, but not too shiny. Fun, but still substantial. It feels like a place to grow from, as well as a worthy stand-alone story in its own right.”