Disney+ cancels popular show after one season and fans declare it ‘the worst decision ever’

Disney+ has reportedly canceled the Star Wars spin off The Acolyte after just one season.

The series starring Amandla Stenberg and Manny Jacinto will not be returning for a season two, Deadline reported. The decision comes just a few months after the eight-episode first season aired on the streaming service in June.

The Acolyte was generally well received by critics , with a 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. It generated 4.8 million views in its first day, in which the first two episodes were dropped simultaneously, becoming the most watched premiere on Disney+ this year.

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It sustained viewership in the first five days, even rising to 11.1 million globally. It made Nielsen’s Top 10 chart in the first two weeks, but momentum dropped off by week three.

The show was also pricey to make. Showrunner Leslye Headland told the New York Times in May the show cost roughly $180 million in total, about $22.5 million per episode.

Headland made history as the first out queer person to create a Star Wars film. She revealed in interviews she’d pitched a season two to production company Lucasfilms, hoping the show would be renewed.

Fans of the show were devastated by the news. On X, one said cancelling The Acolyte was one of “the worst decisions ever.”

They wrote: “It was a series that was finally pushing Star Wars into new fresh directions and was set up for an even better second season. But a bunch of babies couldn’t handle that and now we’ll be stuck with more of the same forever.”

Another user said: “Acolyte being canceled sucks. Deeply imperfect show but at least it was TRYING to branch out with new ideas, characters, and stories from what we are used to. It had *something* behind it even if the execution wasn’t there all the time. Such a shame, makes me sad.”

One fan shared that The Acolyte’s cancelation signifies it’s a bad time for television in general.

“It’s a generally bleak time for television; not just because of The Acolyte. Everything gets cancelled. Nothing gets a chance to find its footing like before. Companies wonder why no one’s watching and it’s because no one wants to get invested in an inevitable unfinished story.”