The creator of Sky1’s Critical has discussed the broadcaster’s decision not to renew the show for a second season.

Starring Lennie James (Line of Duty), Catherine Walker (Strike Back), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered) and Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat), the 13-part real-time medical drama launched in February 2015.

Sky1 announced last July that Critical had been axed due to low ratings.

> Buy Critical on DVD on Amazon.

Writer Jed Mercurio, currently promoting the third season of Line of Duty arriving on DVD, exclusively told CultBox: “I was very sad because [Critical] was a series that we were all very proud of and we’d all enjoyed working together and I thought it was a pretty decent series. I also really respect Sky’s decision. They said not enough people watched it and therefore that they couldn’t spend the money making more.”

He explained: “That’s what happens, you know if you don’t get the ratings you tend to get cancelled. It’s just the way the industry works and you’ve just got to be grown-up and suck it up and move on. The reason I’m not angry about it in any way is because I thought that Sky really supported the show, they really promoted it and they scheduled it well.”

Mercurio added: “I’ve had experiences in the past where I’ve made something and the broadcaster hasn’t really got behind it and they haven’t scheduled it well and then it doesn’t rate and then they say ‘oh it didn’t rate so we’re not making any more’ whereas they were really behind it and I think they were as disappointed as we were that the audience didn’t come to it.”

> Read our full interview with Jed Mercurio.

The fourth season of Line of Duty begins filming later this year.

> Buy Line of Duty Season 3 on DVD on Amazon.

> Buy the complete Line of Duty Season 1-3 box set on Amazon.

Were you hoping for another season of Critical? Let us know below…