In a stunning reversal, Starz has now canceled its Dangerous Liaisons series after initially renewing it for a second season early, per Deadline. The remaining three episodes of the prequel series will air on Starz as originally planned, though executive producers are already said to be finding a new home for the series following the news.
Starz was betting big on Dangerous Liaisons to be one of their staple series going forward. It was set up to capitalize on the legacy of both the classic tale penned by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and the original Academy Award-winning film from Stephen Frears starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, and Keanu Reeves that became a classic in its own right. The series even managed to land solid talent with Alice Englert playing Camille and Nicholas Denton co-starring as Vicomte de Valmont, and the twist of making the series a prequel made the premise stand out among the various other adaptations of the long-adapted story. The show was an origin story for the classic tale's two main characters, exploring how they met and began their rise up the social ladder through manipulation.
Although Starz executives still love that premise and the work put into it, the series could not find an audience. Through the first five episodes of its eight-episode run, the series has yet to crack six-digit viewership, a disastrous outcome for what the network hoped would be a mainstay at least for another season. During the premiere, the show saw only a 0.03 rating in the crucial 18-49 demographic, and only 88,000 total viewers by live + same day Nielsen data. Things would bottom out on Thanksgiving weekend when ratings dipped to 0.02 with 52,000 viewers. It's likely most of the viewership for the series came via the Starz app, though the network hasn't made public the delayed or streaming viewership data.
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Who Else Was Involved in Starz's Dangerous Liaisons
Alongside its leads Englert and Denton, Dangerous Liaisons also starred Kosar Ali, Carice Van Houten, Hilton Pelser, Fisayo Akinade, Michael McElhatton, Nathanael Saleh, Colette Dalal Tchantcho, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, and Tom Wlaschiha. Harriet Warner created the series and executive produced with Coline Abert, James Dormer, and Rita Kalnejais all serving as writers. Direction for the first episode was done by Leonora Lonsdale.
With Dangerous Liaisons no longer moving forward, it marks the second ill-fated period drama on the network, following Becoming Elizabeth about the rise of the Tudor queen. Now, it remains to be seen whether the prequel series can find a home outside the Starz fold. Check out the trailer for Dangerous Liaisons below.