Lovecraft Country was one of HBO’s most popular and talked-about shows in 2020. Based on Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name leaned heavily on H.P. Lovecraft’s horror. It followed Atticus Freeman, Leti, and his Uncle George across the Jim Crow South in search of Atticus’ father and the answer to a magical mystery. Season one concluded the main plot while leaving the door open for future storylines.
Watch your favorite anime for free with Funimation's 14-day free trial
HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys revealed in February 2021 that showrunner Misha Green and her writing team were still working on a story for a possible season 2. Unfortunately, on July 2, 2021, HBO announced that the fantasy-horror series would be canceled. And yet again, fans are rallying on Twitter against the premature cancelation.
Lovecraft Country Trends on Twitter yet again
Lovecraft Country is trending again, with some calling for the show’s return and others criticizing HBO for canceling it. Despite critical acclaim, the dark fantasy was never given enough time to spread its creative wings.
Indeed, Twitterati’s growing sentiment that Lovecraft Country could have been bigger and better than Netflix’s episodic crown jewel, Stranger Things. Check these tweets below:
when i say Lovecraft Country is better and could of been bigger than Stranger Things, I mean it whole heartedly.
— georgio.r (@georgior3) July 4, 2022
Black people enjoying Lovecraft Country: 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
— 𝔔𝔲𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔪𝔢𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔫 𝔅𝔯𝔞𝔷𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔬𝔫👸🏽 (@Blu_Alexia_) July 4, 2022
HBO:
pic.twitter.com/7rYLMl5igb
Since Lovecraft Country is trending I’ll take the time to say that I will never forgive HBO for letting the show go…
— nobu (@bbrryyaannaaa) July 4, 2022
Only Lovecraft Country managed to entertain us every Sunday, but when we needed it the most—HBO decided to be a bitch and made it vanish. pic.twitter.com/Yro0H8mDXp
— 𝔔𝔲𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔪𝔢𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔫 𝔅𝔯𝔞𝔷𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔬𝔫👸🏽 (@Blu_Alexia_) July 4, 2022
No let’s talk about how Misha Green’s Lovecraft Country was arguably one of the best shows on television and HBO just dropped it and one of the reasons floated was that it didn’t have enough of a compelling story for a 2nd Season?!?! How?!
— Rose (@whtatim2BAlive) July 4, 2022
However, the trend raised the hopes of onlookers, who became excited at the prospect of the show possibly returning. Whenever Lovecraft Country has made the list of top trends, the tweets above perfectly summarize Twitter’s relationship with it. There are far too many tweets to reveal. But the consensus is that Lovecraft Country was removed from television too soon.
So, Why was Lovecraft County canceled?
In a statement with Variety, HBO confirmed that they wouldn’t be Moving forward with Lovecraft County. However, it was not revealed why Lovecraft Country was canceled. It’s unlikely that it was due to low ratings, given that the season one finale drew 1.5 million viewers.
However, the cancellation was most likely caused because the series had already covered the entirety of Ruff’s novel by the end of its first season. The HBO series would have had to forge its path without additional source material.
The show was canceled because Lovecraft Country killed off several key characters by the end of the season, including Atticus, Uncle George, Montrose, and presumably Leti’s sister Ruby.
Of course, the show involved magic. And they could have returned in some capacity for season 2. However, Jonathan Majors and Wunmi Mosaku have gone on to star in Loki. And if HBO couldn’t get them back for another season, and if their characters’ deaths were permanent, it’s understandable why the show wouldn’t want to continue without them.
Do you think HBO should bring back Lovecraft Country for another season? Let us know in the comments down below.