Apple axes its big-budget sci-fi show ahead of season 2 – despite good reviews

The never-ending quest to be the best streaming service on the market means making the tough calls, and just like its competitors, Apple clearly doesn't mind making them. 

It's been reported that it has just axed plans for a second season of its Time Bandits revival – after the show failed to attract the sort of viewer numbers that Apple was seeking. That it landed largely positive reviews (and a 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes) doesn't seem to have been enough to have saved it. 

The show had dropped its episodes in double doses weekly for just over a month, and was created by some big names, in the form of Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi. Plus, with Lisa Kudrow as a star to front it, the outlook seemed pretty good at first.

Time Bandits — Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - YouTube

Watch On

That isn't how it's turned out, though, and the series didn't even dent the top 10 in the US Nielsen ratings at any point in its run. Even that shouldn't be much of a surprise, though – Apple's subscriber numbers are so much smaller than the likes of Netflix that even hit shows don't tend to get far on that list. 

It's also fair to point out that Time Bandits was seeking to thread quite a small needle – it was a high-budget show that was aimed at family viewing, which immediately narrows its audience. The fact that it was also conceptually a little more complicated than some other kid-friendly fare made that all the more of a challenge. 

While Apple is reportedly happy to spend $20 million per episode on Severance's hotly-anticipated second season, and has loads of other excellent and complex sci-fi fare for adults, getting parents to watch with their kids might have been too much to ask. Nostalgia for the original 1980s movie hasn't had the pull to counteract that, either. 

So, this isn't the biggest shock cancellation of recent times, especially given big streamers' record of happily axing even critically acclaimed shows if they don't perform. Still, the good news is that despite the end of the show after one season, you can still catch that run of fun episodes anytime you like on Apple TV+.