Fox Cancels ‘Monarch’ After Just One Season

It was a short-lived run for the Romans’ country music dynasty, as Fox has canceled Monarch after just one season.

As reported by Deadline, Monarch will not be returning for a second season. The show had gone through a number of changes since it was originally filmed during the pandemic. Initially, it was set for a January 2022 launch but was pushed back as a result of COVID-19. It was then redesigned as a shorter 11-episode series.

Created by Melissa London Hilfers, the musical drama revolved around Dottie (Susan Sarandon) and Albie Roman (Trace Adkins), the heads of a country music empire, and their daughter Nicky Roman (Anna Friel), who does all she can to protect the family’s reign in country music while ensuring her own stardom.

The drama also starred Joshua Sasse, Beth Ditto, Iñigo Pascual, Meagan Holder, Eva Amurri, Emma Milani, and Martha Higareda. It featured guest appearances from the likes of Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Caitlyn Smith, and Tanya Tucker.

While the series opened strong with 0.8 adults 18-49 and 3.8 million total viewers for its season premiere, it struggled to retain that audience over its subsequent 10 episodes. According to Deadline, across the season, Monarch averaged a 0.3/3 in Live+Same Day ratings.

Reacting to the cancelation news on Twitter, series creator Hilfers jokingly tweeted, “Thank god I have some cheesecake left.”

Thank god I still have some cheesecake left.

— Melissa London Hilfers (@melissahilfers) December 8, 2022

Meanwhile, Holder, who played Kayla Taylor-Roman, wrote, “What a ride. What a character. Thank you to everyone behind the show (cc: @melissahilfers and the awesome social team) and a huge thank YOU to everyone who watched.”

Adore you, Meagan. Thank you for bringing your beautiful heart and mind to Kayla. ❤️

— Melissa London Hilfers (@melissahilfers) December 7, 2022

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Fans were also upset by the news. “@FOXTV you guys made me and a lot of people mad by canceling Monarch good job you guys suck,” tweeted one viewer, while another wrote, “How dare @foxtv cancel @MonarchOnFOX.

Monarch now joins The Big Leap, Our Kind of People, and Pivoting as shows canceled by Fox in 2022.