Arthurian re-interpretation Cursed is reported as cancelled by Netflix after a single season

EW is reporting the cancellation of Cursed with no reasons given. Released last summer, this was a big budget Lady of the Lake show, based on the Frank Miller / Tom Wheeler graphic novel.

It starred Katherine Langford as Nimue, before becoming the Lady of the Lake. It also starred Devon Terrell as Arthur, Gustaf Skarsgard as Merlin, Daniel Sharman as Lancelot, and Sebastian Armesto as King Uther.

Not only, but also…

There have been several fantasy / superhero cancellations by Netflix in the past few months, including Jupiter’s Legacy and The Irregulars. In those cases viewing figures looked good, so the reasons are clearly more complex, and likely include budget and viewer demographic / behaviour.

This contrast to other shows in the streamers ever-growing portfolio such as The Witcher and Shadow and Bone. Both of these have second series in various stages.

Our thoughts

We’d heard little or nothing on Cursed since launch, not even noise around delays on season 2 due to the pandemic. We actually thought it had already been cancelled, despite any strengths.

We did feel it tried a little too hard at the beginning to build its world, had a fascinating take on Merlin, but also struggled to allow its characters to breathe in the first episodes.

We wish those involved well, and look forward to their future projects.